


Sehnsucht

by Rheehemoth



Category: Naruto
Genre: Awkward Flirting, Awkward Romance, F/M, Falling In Love, Female Friendship, First Love, Friendship/Love, Long-Distance Relationship, Love, Male-Female Friendship, Post-Fourth Shinobi War, Romance, Romantic Friendship, Shinobi, Slow Burn, Slow Romance, Training
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-11
Updated: 2018-11-25
Packaged: 2019-01-31 20:32:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 31
Words: 114,525
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12689733
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rheehemoth/pseuds/Rheehemoth
Summary: A story about Uchiha Itachi and Sokkenai Hitori. The famed ‘Clan Killer’ cheats death with the help of Team Seven, and becomes ANBU Commander in Konoha. Sokkenai Hitori is a girl trying to find her way and her place in the shinobi world. Opposites come together as Hitori helps Itachi find a new reason to live, and he helps her feel like she belongs.





	1. Inception

**Chapter 1 - Inception**

“Sokkenai Hitori. You have been summoned.” the ANBU operative spoke in their usual commanding tone, showing no emotion. They disappeared in a whirl of leaves immediately after she nodded in understanding.

Hitori stood up from her small table, where she had been reading a book and enjoying a cup of her favourite tea. So far, today had been uneventful, until now. She had returned from month long, arduous mission that took her in the far north of Cloud Country, escorting a Fire Country noble to their in laws house. It wouldn’t have taken so damn long if they didn’t want to stay in hotels and inns every single night. If the weather was too hot or too humid or if it was raining, they had to stay put until it cleared. Since Cloud was a much colder climate, she tore her hair out when they got further up north and were only able to travel in the middle of the day when it was warmer. But unfortunately that choice was removed from her hands. She did also get fed very well, but the lack of exercise made her bored very fast.

Luckily, she compensated by scouting ahead and doubling back once or twice per day, as well as going through all her memorised kata before she went to bed at night. Yet, it had been a boring mission, and the fact that it was a month long made it worse. Tsunade had forced her into a week of time off, since that was usually standard practice after missions that reached a month in duration. Normally it was two weeks, but she argued that she hadn't done enough to warrant the extra weeks rest 

The young woman took her chances to train while she could, but not having many friends to train with didn’t help. Sometimes she would approach some of the other people she knew or the jonin, but she didn’t know any of them well enough to ask. Usually they were nice enough to spar with her on occassion, but most of the time, they were out of the village on missions.

Since the Fourth Great Shinobi War was over, all the five villages were trying to rebuild, which luckily had kept them all in each other’s good books. When they met each other in the field, they didn’t try to kill each other any more. There was even reports of some Kumo ninja who healed a Konoha team who had run into bounty hunters and Konoha sharing supplies with Kiri ninja. There had been more peace talks, and more diplomats being sent to Taki and even Ame was growing in size. Luckily, Konan was in charge of the village and her friendship with Naruto meant that they would always be a strong ally.

Even though there was plenty of people who were trying to make a difference, there was always those who still wanted to tear down those above them. The Daimyo of each nation still had not heard the concerns of the shinobi who wanted to be treated like people, not weapons of war. They would still send them into missions meaning certain death, and respected them about as much as a rock. Hitori knew that Tsunade had been tearing her hair out over the meetings with the Fire Daimyo, who was notorious for not listening to her. They still had a ways to go to change the shinobi world.

Changing into a tidier shirt, she put her shoes on before she headed to the Hokage Tower. While she was on her way, she pulled her mid back length, black hair into a more comfortable ponytail and stretched this way and that as she strolled there. This was more than likely a mission assignment meeting, so she wasn’t too worried about rushing. The Hokage was quite busy dealing with a thousand other things, and rarely noticed if you were late anyway. Either that or she didn’t care enough to yell at you for it. She was still trying to convince The Copy Nin, Hatake Kakashi, to take over her role and become the Rokudaime Hokage so she could retire, but she hadn’t seen to wear him down enough yet.

Hitori pushed the door open lazily with her shoulder, keeping her hands in her pockets, and headed up to the top floor. Shizune was seated at her desk outside the Hokage’s office and gave her a smile when she approached.

“Hey Shizune. How are you?” Hitori asked politely, returning the older woman’s smile.

“Good, thank you. And yourself? I hear your last mission was rather...boring,” she chuckled softly and Hitori rolled her eyes.

“It took me a whole month to escort this noble to the north of Cloud because they were so picky about when we could travel.” she threw her hands up. “Ugh. I don’t even want to talk about it,” she said as she shook her head.

“Well, I’m sure you’ll get more excitement soon. You can head in in a minute. She’s just having a meeting with Ibiki.”

Shizune indicated to the seats against the wall, and Hitori flopped down into one of them. She got the feeling from Shizune’s tone earlier that she knew something about what was going to happen in this meeting and suddenly got nervous. It was fairly rare for her to be called to the Hokage’s office for anything but a mission, but now she wasn’t so sure. It didn’t seem like she was in trouble. Usually you could tell from the expression on her assistant’s face if you were going to get torn to ribbons or if you were going to get good news.

The door to the office opened a few minutes later, and Morino Ibiki stepped out, bowing before he shut the door behind him. He said goodbye to Shizune, and saw her as he turned towards the stairs. She bowed her head politely, surprised when he returned it after taking a moment to recognise her. Hitori had only worked with him once before, and she did not expect for him to return her greeting, let alone even remember who she was.

“Hitori? You can go in now.” Shizune’s voice snapped her from her trance and she smiled awkwardly as she headed over to the door.

After stepping inside, she bowed low until the Hokage noticed her.

“Sokkenai.” She didn’t look up from her paperwork as she spoke. “You were almost going to be late.”

For lack of not knowing how to respond, Hitori pursed her lips and stayed silent as she rose back to her full height. Hopefully that would mean that the Sannin wouldn’t rip her to shreds. She stepped forward closer to her desk and clasped her hands together behind her back, standing as tall as she could. Although she only reached 5 foot, she tried her best anyway.

“Tell me, have you ever considered trying out for ANBU?” Tsunade asked her abruptly, and finally looked up at her, just in time to see the shock come across her face.

“I have not.” she managed a response, and couldn’t help her brow knitting together in confusion. Surely she didn’t mean…

“I want you to try out. Your skills need to be honed better, and you aren’t getting the right missions to improve them and I don’t have any to offer. You also have decent medical skills, although you are utterly useless when it comes to illnesses and check ups. I can’t even imagine how you would cope doing the yearly physicals for the shinobi again.” she shook her head, “However, you are good at dealing with severe wounds and poisons. Exactly the sort of skills suited for an ANBU medic.” Tsunade had linked her fingers together on the desk, and was resting her chin atop of them. The older woman waited quietly for her to think of what to say.

“I’m not sure if I am good enough for ANBU, Hokage.”

Self-doubt was always the first thing that crossed her mind, and this moment was no exception. She had experienced the same thought process when encouraged to test for jonin. She hadn’t even thought about ever being in ANBU, because she didn’t think that her abilities were up to scratch for such a thing. However, if the Hokage herself had suggested it to her, maybe it was something for her to try her hand at. She had been a chunin for years now, and not many chunin got invited into ANBU. That was not due to a lack of skill, but ANBU shinobi required certain skills and abilities to be suitable. Some shinobis style of combat wasn’t suited to the job.

“As I said, you still need to try out first. They may knock you back, but I think your potential is there. You need the right environment to unlock it.” she leant back in her chair and smirked faintly. “I doubt you are getting the chance to do that on escort missions that last a month.” Hitori huffed in response and relaxed a little.

“Anyway. My point is, I think that ANBU would suit your skill set. You prefer and specialise in reconnaissance missions, don’t you?” Hitori nodded in confirmation. “ANBU is where they are at right now. The jonin are getting missions like the one you did simply for the paycheck we get. ANBU are currently low on members, and they need medics desperately.” Tsunade noticed her uncertainty and raised her hands in a defeated gesture.

“Just...consider it, at least. Hmm?” the blonde sighed at her delayed response and Hitori finally nodded in reply. “Now, get out of my office.”

“Thank you, Hokage.”

Something in her tone made the older woman give her a warm smile, and she hoped that she had made her gratitude for the praise she was given obvious. It was rare that Hitori interacted with any higher ranking, more experienced shinobi. Even on her last mission, the shinobi she worked with was a decently-talented, older chuunin. So she supposed that due to this, she hadn’t really had a chance to get the increase in skills that she probably should have by her age. She was 19 now, and would be turning 20 in a few months, which was decent, but nothing outstanding. Maybe she was being overly critical of herself.

She wasn’t like the Copy Ninja, who made chunin when he was 6, let alone someone like the Yondaime, who became Hokage at the young age of 24. Her abilities as a shinobi were good, but her biggest problem was the lack of knowledge with her jutsu.

Hitori was an orphan and had grown up in the Konoha orphanage until she was old enough to enter the Academy. It was all she had wanted to do when she was a child, and she was lucky that she had some ability with chakra and was accepted. She spent the normal amount of time there and didn’t stand out for any reason, until she went for the chunin exam where she discovered that she was able to disappear into shadow. She had scraped through, but made it somehow after instinctively unlocking her ability and her opponent had knocked himself out when her physical form disappeared. Unfortunately, due to her lack of knowledge regarding her heritage, she didn't know how to use her ability or even what it was. She wasn't born in Konoha and there was only a record of her mother, and her father was unknown. It left a lot of questions unanswered.

After making chunin, she stayed at the orphanage and helped out as much as she could, while she saved her money that she got from her simple C and B rank missions so she could buy her own place. When she was 16, a small hole in the wall apartment had gone up for sale after the previous tenant had died on a mission, and she was able to rent it. After that, since learning that she had inherited some sort of ability from her parents, whom she knew nothing about, she had excelled over the last few years and offered the chance to test for jonin at the next exam, which was in a little less than a year.

When she lost her entire genin team that had trained with, and gone through the chunin exams with her during a messy B-rank mission, she was beside herself with grief, and almost quit being a shinobi together. Luckily, she had been treated by someone in the hospital who saved her life without breaking a sweat, and after seeing them having such control over life and death, she had knuckled down and learned as much medical jutsu that she could to try and prevent that from happening again.

Unfortunately, she was terrible at first and failed all the exams regarding illnesses and diseases, but her ability to stop bleeding, treat shock, and metabolise poisons was acceptable and had gotten her through. She wasn’t exactly great at working in the hospital, but being a field-medic suited her skills well.

Now she was almost 20, and a Konoha chunin who had been recommended to try out for ANBU. Certainly not what she expected when she entered the Academy as a child.

Lost in her thoughts, she strolled around the village mindlessly, and sat down at Ichiraku to eat something before she headed back home. Teuchi took her order and started making it as she sat quietly, staring into space until someone nudged her shoulder. She turned to see someone with pink-hair staring at her expectantly.

“Ah, Sakura. Sorry, I was spaced out. Did you say something?” Hitori asked politely, scratching her head awkwardly.

“I figured as much. I asked if you had thought more about Tsunade’s recommendation?” she replied and sat down next to her. Teuchi took her order with a beaming smile. Hitori looked at her with a questioning gaze, and she smirked before she answered. “Shizune told me this morning.”

“Uh, I’m not quite sure what to do. I’ve been wanting to train for the jonin exams, but I doubt I would get the chance to if I join ANBU.” she handed a pair of chopsticks to Sakura, whom she only knew in passing until recently. They had always gotten along well though, and Hitori had a lot of respect for her and her abilities. Their bond had increased lately as they had trained together a few times and had become friends.

“Well, think about it this way. Maybe the ANBU training and missions will be enough for you to be ready for the jonin exams. I know that I am always crazy busy at the hospital, but I’m happy to train with you when I get the chance.” Sakura smiled at her and shuffled in her seat when Teuchi brought their bowls to them. Both girls passed him their money and he thanked them politely.

“Thank you for that. Hey, if I try out and get knocked back, at least I had a go. Then I can focus on jonin training anyway.” Hitori shrugged nonchalantly and began to eat.

“Exactly right. You always have options, but I hope you decide to try out.”

Sakura began to eat as well, and their conversation changed from ANBU and jonin to the happenings in the hospital before discussing a few different things she had been researching over the last few weeks. Hitori was glad for the conversation, and she had had minimal social interaction since she got back from her mission last week. She didn’t count a snotty noble as enjoyable company either.

Hitori finished first, and stood up to take her leave before Sakura stopped her.

“Hey, I have a mission so I won’t see you for a week or two. I’ll let you know when I’m back so we can train though. Okay?” the pink-haired girl smiled at her and she returned it as best she could and nodded.

“Take care on your mission,” she bowed her head and walked away, putting her hands in her pockets and strolled towards home.

Instead of arriving home, she found herself wandering towards the ANBU headquarters. She took a seat on the ground so it was about 50 metres away and stared. So far both Tsunade and Sakura had encouraged her to try out, and both opinions came from people she had a great deal of respect for. The small part of her brain that constantly tried to push her down was a little louder in this moment, but she scrunched up her nose and tried to block it out.

Sakura was right. She did have options. If she didn’t make ANBU, she could work towards jonin and try her best. The jonin exams were only held once a year, and she wasn’t exactly expecting to pass the first time around. Experience was a brilliant teacher, and she would be glad for the learning curve. As terrifying as the idea of the jonin exams was, it was exciting to test herself.

Taking a deep breath of cool, evening air, she resolved to at least try. She would report to the Hokage tomorrow and accept her offer to try out.

The young woman eventually made her way home and had an early night. She had done far too much thinking today and wanted to get as much rest as she could while she had the chance...


	2. Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Itachi arrives back to the only home he has ever had...

**Chapter 2 - Home**

Although Konoha had been his home for many years, he still felt strange walking through the gate for the first time in so long. Even when he had been away with Akatsuki for so long, Konoha was still his home. That fact had not changed, and a very small part of him had always hoped he could live out the rest of his days in the village he grew up in. Said village was on edge with his arrival, but as he walked in with Hatake Kakashi, Haruno Sakura, Uzumaki Naruto and Sai, the people around them seemed to relax. He was in cuffs, but it was more or less a formality. Tsunade had already told him that her plan to clear his name was sorted out, and she needed him here to iron out the creases. However, the tension was still thick in the air.

He supposed that he was lucky to still be alive after all this and shouldn't expect much, but his heart didn't listen, no matter how hard he tried. When he had awoken in a facility belonging to Madara, he knew that he had to escape even if he died in the process. If he didn't, he would undoubtedly be used for whatever sinister machinations the elder Uchiha had in mind for him. So he had used every ounce of his strength and dragged himself through the scrub and forest, through places he didn't recognise until he had reached an abandoned hunting cabin.

Barely alive, he had laid down in that cabin and not expected to wake up again. It was only by chance that he was found. Team Seven had tracked him down somehow after following a lead for someone with who was suspected to be an Akatsuki member. The Uchiha gathered that they had found the compound Madara had 'stored' him in and tracked his presence from there. Since war was still so clear in the rear view, they hadn't been able to ignore such a lead and Team Seven had followed the trail to deal with whatever was on the other end.

It just so happened to be the mostly-dead Uchiha.

###

3 Weeks Earlier...

Itachi stirred after hearing muffled voices arguing nearby. His first thought was to try and figure out where he was. He cracked his eyes open, and was glad that there was minimal natural light in the room. He tried to pay attention to the voices he could hear, but it wasn't clear enough for him to figure out if they were male, female or how many there were in total. His chakra was depleted and he had no idea how long he had been unconscious for. Maybe he had died and this was the entrance to the afterlife; he didn't know. When he focused his vision, he recognised the surroundings of the small cabin he had found after dragging himself away from Madara's clutches.

Carefully, he moved a hand to his throat, placing two fingers over his pulse point, to make sure he was actually alive. Though it was weak and slow, it was there and he took a controlled breath to try and figure out how on earth he was alive. He felt absolutely ravenous, and so dehydrated that he was sure his jaw would fall off if he tried to open it. His head thudded with the effects of his dehydration and his eyes felt like they would fall out of his skull. The smell of dried blood was thick in the air.

A feminine gasp sounded from the corner of the room but they dashed away before he could see them, allowing his eyes time to focus. He saw a flash of colour, then his ears picked up another whispered argument. Finally a more authoritative voice sounded a little louder and told them all to be quiet.

Hatake Kakashi, son of the White Fang, stepped in the room with a purposely non-threatening gait as he walked toward him. This was the last thing that he expected to see after being unconscious for however long he had been out for, and he wasn't quite sure whether he should be glad to see the Copy Ninja right now. Although he had always had respect for the elder shinobi, the fact that he was here could mean that he had been sent to assassinate him. If he was going to die though, at least Kakashi would make it fast.

"Sakura. Would you come here please?"

The Copy Ninja asked his female student, who snapped her head toward him with fury in her eyes, but her kind heart gave way moments later after seeing something that Itachi must have missed on Kakashi's face when he looked at her. Naruto had a strange expression regarding Kakashi's request, but a quick look from his team leader made him relax immediately. Itachi didn't see it, but he could feel the mood of the room change straight away. The other boy, Sai, Itachi recalled, placed a comforting hand on Naruto's shoulder as they walked away to give Naruto some space. Although they knew that Itachi had helped turn the tide of the war, they still didn't know what side he was truly on. Just because Itachi had tried to help them against Madara, didn't mean he was a good guy.

Kakashi asked her to heal him as best she could so they could move him to another, safer location, somewhere that he would be safe from other shinobi and bounty hunters. Itachi knew his head was worth someone's weight in ryo and then some, and he wouldn't put up any fight in his condition. Sakura sat down next to him and took a breath before she got to work. Itachi noticed very quickly that she avoided his gaze, and instead let his head fall back against the wall and closed his eyes, feeling the strange tingle that her chakra caused as she healed his most serious wounds.

Her shocked gasp made him focus on her, and he saw her chewing her bottom lip involuntarily before she brought herself under control again. She had moved to heal his internal injuries and had sent a wave of chakra through his vital organs and felt the damage that his illness had done to him.

"How long?" she asked with an unsteady voice that surprised him momentarily.

"Years." he replied softly, his throat on fire from severe dehydration. Normally he would try to keep the emotion from his voice, but he was far too tired. Sakura's expression showed that she understood immediately, even though he only said a single word.

"Why?" she asked, her voice still shaky.

"There was things I had to do."

His answer made her hands shake slightly, and he watched silently as her bottom lip came between her teeth. Though his eyes were having trouble focusing, he could still see the tears well up in her eyes. She could tell that he had been in a lot of pain the last few years, and understood his meaning when he said that he couldn't die until he had done what he needed to do. Her empathy was something that shocked him, but he found that he also appreciated it as well.

Once Sakura had healed him the majority of his severe wounds, he and Kakashi had a very long and somewhat private talk about what had happened over the years. While they talked, Naruto, Sakura and Sai had sat a short distance away, but both Kakashi and Itachi knew that they were listening very keenly to everything that they were saying. Kakashi's intellect had been expected, but even Itachi was impressed by how much he actually knew, and had figured out on his own. He guessed that Itachi had been feeding information to Jiraiya all these years. As much as he knew he didn't deserve praise, Kakashi still gave it to him and he accepted it as gracefully as he could. In a way it was probably his subconscious wanting recognition for everything he put himself through for the sake of his village. Feeling validated whilst being on death's door was more than he expected.

After Itachi spoke about being ordered by the Sandaime to either kill the Uchiha clan himself, or join their coup and his obvious decision to kill them to save Sasuke, Naruto jumped up from his spot on the ground. The Kyuubi vessel looked furious and slammed a strong fist into the wall beside him, parts of it that were crushed and crumbled fell away as he pulled back. Sakura's hands covered her mouth in shock as his answer to her earlier question began to make more sense. Even the well composed Sai frowned deeply.

"Fuck!" Naruto blurted out, his rage hadn't died down any, even with the skin he had tore from his knuckles after punching the wall. "This needs to change. Shinobi need to change." he growled, and it was just loud enough for Itachi to hear. If anyone had been watching him in that moment, they would have seen the corner of his mouth turn upwards in the memory of a smile at the resolute young man's words.

Following that, there was little more that needed to be said and they had been talking for hours about everything to do with his life and the war. Kakashi approached him cautiously, crouching down next to him and spoke to him very quietly, his revealed eye crinkling slightly in a strangely pleasant gesture.

"Would you like some help, Uchiha-san?"

The question was simple and polite, but what the Copy Ninja had essentially asked him what whether he wanted to live, or stay there and die. As best he could from his horizontal position, he considered the options before him. He could accept the offer for help, and he had recognised the flash of colour from earlier as the pink-haired girl, the Sannin's apprentice, and knew that she would be capable of healing him. If he declined, Kakashi might even offer to end it for him, or at least leave a weapon for him, since he had none of his own and no chakra.

He considered what reasons he would have to live. The reasons that he had fought to stay alive for so long was for his brother and for Konoha. He could accept the offer of help and continue being alive and fighting for those reasons once more. Although he had sacrificed his entire life for those two entities, if he needed to do it again, he would without hesitation. Konoha could be rebuilt faster with the help of capable shinobi who could take missions and earn money for the village, which would also lessen the risk of being attacked by another village while they were weak. As far as he guessed though, they would be weak as well and he hoped they would not risk such a stupid idea.

Sasuke's face appeared in his mind and his mind was made up. His brother had been through enough, and maybe they could repair their relationship and become brothers again, which was what he had always wanted, but never been able to achieve. The thought made his heart thump with renewed strength and he steadied himself with a deep breath.

As best he could, he sat up, and Kakashi was kind enough to help him shuffle to lean up against a nearby wall. He took a few breaths, and steadied his heart, accepting that his decision, ultimately it would mean that when he did die, he would have no regrets. So he chose to live.

"Yes...please." he barely choked out in a whisper that Kakashi didn't miss.

The older man also didn't miss the desperation that passed behind his dark eyes, and Itachi guessed that his eye crinkling again meant he was smiling. Sakura came over a moment later and began working on him again, since she had some time to rest.

It took them a few more hours before they decided to move, waiting for the cover of darkness so that they could move a little slower. Itachi hated feeling like an invalid and flatly refused when Naruto had offered to piggyback him, although another part of him felt pleased that he had come to understand why he had done all the things he did over the years. It seemed that the Kyuubi Jinchuriki had developed a new respect for him now that he had heard his story.

They moved quietly and carefully through the night until they came upon what appeared to be an old stone watchtower roughly two hours before dawn. They headed inside and both Kakashi and Sai disappeared, Itachi assuming they were setting up chakra nets and sensors around so that they could rest for most of the day and resume travelling at night. When the two men returned, Naruto and Sakura had set up the small space to allow all of them to get some manner of rest while they were there. Sai pulled a scroll and paint brush from his pack and began writing away.

"Is it coded?" Sakura asked in a mothering tone, and Sai gave her a blank look in answer.

"Please mention that this was my judgement, Sai." Kakashi sounded from the corner of the room where he sat with his nose buried in his book, casual as could be.

"Done." Sai made a few hand seals and the ink on the page disappeared.

"Hopefully we will get a reply in a few hours." Naruto laid back against the wall, his hands behind his head in a makeshift pillow.

The Uchiha sat quietly, and tried to get some rest. Fortunately, his body and his mind was too exhausted to fight him and he drifted off...

###

As best he could, he looked around with his failing eyes, due to overuse from the Sharingan, and took in the sights of the village once more. It hadn't changed as much as he expected it to, but that just made him feel more at home. He certainly hadn't expected to see this place again in his lifetime, but it seemed that fate had other ideas for him.

They headed straight toward the Hokage Tower where they were being waited upon by ANBU. Shizune met them at the front door and took them up to Tsunade's office. They went in and Itachi's eyes focused on the older woman who had her fingers laced together on the desk before her. Her expression was serious and Shizune left them immediately after, shutting the door behind entire building looked like it had been emptied out for his arrival. However, Itachi noted the presence of the ANBU that completely surrounded the building, though he gathered that was for appearances.

"Uchiha Itachi. I must admit that your survival was the last thing I expected Kakashi to report to me." Tsunade's voice commanded his full attention and he actually felt somewhat relieved to hear it.

"I had not expected such a result either. I am just as surprised as you, my lady Hokage." Itachi replied politely and didn't miss her brief smirk at his subtle joke.

"Well, one of the reason I have had you brought here is that you and Sasuke are the last of the Uchiha. Aside from Sasuke and Kakashi, you are also the last people to have the Sharingan. Not only that, you are a brilliant shinobi and I don't want your talents going to waste with you dying. I also know that despite everything, you are still are, and always have been, a loyal shinobi of Konoha. For these reasons, I want you back here and to have your name cleared. You deserve recognition for everything you sacrificed for the sake of this village." She explained firmly, and he wasn't entirely sure what she planned to do with him if her plan was successful.

"I know that you were giving intel to Jiraiya as well as the information about the massacre. As much as I am able to, I would like to apologise on behalf of Konoha for what you were forced to go through for the sake of the village. I expect that this information coming to light will allow me to dispose of some elders who desperately need to start using their retirement plan." The dark edge to her voice made Sakura and Naruto smirk, knowing her thoughts regarding the elders.

"May I ask how you plan to clear my name? As you know, I am not innocent. I expect you will also need a contingency plan for consoling the other villages as well." He asked her softly and she leant back in her chair and folded her arms.

"I plan to expose Danzo as the mind behind most of this. He used Shisui's Sharingan ability to trick the Sandaime into commanding you to do the massacre but before you could, Madara had already done most of it for you, having got wind from Danzo. As for being in the Akatsuki, you did suggest to the Sandaime that becoming a scapegoat and a double agent was the best course of action for you. Of course participating in the Akatsuki's rituals was a necessary part to hold your cover and your intent to destroy them from the inside forced you to obey their orders. Since you always avoided combat wherever possible and encouraged your partner, Kisame to do the same, we have that to our advantage as well. Considering that a large majority of that is true or not too far from the truth, we will get by okay." She shrugged nonchalantly as he nodded slowly, taking in the information.

"I also am happy to testify upon your behalf. Even before I talked to you when we found you, I had a good idea of what happened and why. I have always respected you as a shinobi, and your loyalty is outstanding." Kakashi spoke up, his hands in his pockets, but his single eyes revealed his silent sincerity.

"Me too. You scared the shit out of me when I was younger, but when I found out everything you did was for the sake of Konoha and for Sasuke, I couldn't bring myself to hate you. In fact, I felt angry that you had such a hard life because you loved our village so much." Naruto's words surprised him, and if he was ever going to crack a smile, it would be how he said 'our village'. The blonds maturity was unexpected but he was grateful nonetheless.

"Besides, when I become Hokage I need to make sure that tragedies like that don't happen again. You will be a great example to show the villagers of how the ninja world needs to change. To make sure that we aren't tools of war by the Daimyo any more." He almost spoke like he was Hokage already and he was so confident that even Itachi couldn't help but believe that he might be capable of achieving such a pipe dream.

"Thank you." Was all he could manage in reply.

"So our first step in this master plan is to send you off to ANBU headquarters for a while. Basically, you need to give us as much intel as you can on everything that happened while you were out of the village and the lead up to your departure. Everything you tell us will be used to our advantage as best we can, so the more info, the better. These guys will escort you there and Kakashi will remain with you for the duration. Sakura will periodically come by for check ups to see how you are healing up. She mentioned that some of your old wounds are troubling her." Itachi nodded in understanding and gathered Sakura had already informed her Master about his illness.

"If I may ask, what exactly am I supposed to do if this works? Will I be allowed to remain in the village?" Itachi asked quietly, unsure of where he would stand if everything went to plan.

"Hm, I suppose that's up to you. You would be welcome to stay in the village and, hell I would even give you your old job back in ANBU if you wanted it. But I suspect you would prefer to avoid being on active duty again." She phrased it like a statement, but her upward inflection gave him a chance to correct her.

"If possible, I would appreciate being able to stay. However, you are right. I do not wish to be on active duty. Though I am happy to take an advisory role or organisational role if required. I would like to do what I can to...repay my debts." Although no one said anything, everyone knew what he meant.

"We can talk more about that later. Let's get the hard part done, shall we?" She pulled some paperwork back in front of her and shooed them away. "Now get out of my office. I have mounds of forms to organise to get this all done."

His four companions bowed their heads quickly and turned toward the door. However, Itachi bowed low, showing his respect and only rose when he heard Tsunade's voice.

"Don't thank me yet, Uchiha." She shooed him away again and he followed Team Seven out the door.

When they arrived in ANBU headquarters, everything was still hush hush and there was a special chamber that had been prepped especially for his arrival. Kakashi left his teammates at the door and after they took their leave, Morino Ibiki appeared to his right. The man hadn't changed much and even gave Itachi a handshake, which he returned as best he could in his cuffs. Clearly, he had figured out things weren't right as well and been informed of the situation. Kakashi had mentioned to him several times on their way to Konoha that there was still many jonin and old school ANBU operatives who had respect for him and knew that something wasn't quite right. They knew how dedicated he was as an ANBU Captain and how much he loved his village and that it wasn't normal for someone like that to change so abruptly.

Ibiki and Kakashi went in the room with him and he sat down at the table opposite Ibiki, while Kakashi took a seat in the corner. His interrogator, so to speak, shuffled some papers and got his pen ready to write down everything that Itachi was going to tell him. When he was ready, he looked up and asked the most obvious question.

"What happened in the lead up to the massacre?" He asked in his usual stern voice.

Itachi took a breath and began to speak, regaling everything that he remembered from the last few years. He made sure not to speak too quickly, lest Ibiki miss something important. He spoke about how the massacre occurred and how Madara had approached him that night and assisted him in the process, which wasn't too far off the fabrication Tsunade had come up with. He explained why he kept Sasuke alive, not being able to kill his own brother, regardless of his orders and the Sandaime accepted his plea to look out for him. Ibiki asked about him being Jiraiya's informant and what they communicated. Kakashi also mentioned about how Itachi clearly wished to avoid combat when he infiltrated the village years ago and had all but ensured his partner, Hoshigake Kisame, would do the same.

After they covered the intel given to Jiraiya, it had been seven hours and his voice was raspy from overuse. Sakura came and checked on him as well, and he was given a hot meal and plenty of water. He didn't actually feel like eating, but forced himself to anyway. Ibiki got an agent to show him to a small, dank room which had a cot that was more than likely going to be horridly uncomfortable. The older man apologised but Itachi merely shrugged and said a quiet thank you. Kakashi said his goodbyes and disappeared moments later.

When Itachi entered the room, the door shut behind him and he could sense two guards standing out the front. The door was designed to be sealed tight with chakra, but Ibiki hadn't ordered it as he didn't deem it necessary in this situation. He wasn't sure how many ANBU were aware of what was going on, or at least the gravity of the what was happening.

Although he was exhausted, mentally and physically, he doubted that he would sleep very well. He didn't exactly feel comfortable yet, and he knew that if was able to stay in Konoha, that that would change in time. As he laid down, the cot certainly was not comfortable, nor the fact that his cuffs had to stay on while he slept.

Trying his best to silence his thoughts, he slept on and off through the night….

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will be out in two weeks! It's called 'Identity'.


	3. Identity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hitori tests out for ANBU

**Chapter 3 - Identity**

It was a few hours before the try outs for ANBU started and Hitori was sitting in her apartment, attempting not to cry or wet herself with nervousness. Although she felt better after the encouragement from both the Hokage and Sakura, she still wasn't sure if she would pass. She hadn't been told anything about what she would have to do for the test, whether it was like the Chunin exams, and she would have to fight or if it was more like the Academy with general tests of skill and knowledge.

After she finished her tea, that she had made in an attempt to calm herself down, she placed the cup and saucer in the sink and began to get dressed in her usual clothing. First was her bindings, which were always annoying, a mesh undershirt and black tank top, that zipped up at the side. Over that was her vest, which had pockets for various syringes, bandages and other medical necessities. Her black pants were cropped just below the knee and her various holsters for senbon, shuriken and kunai were strapped her thighs. She buckled up her leather boots, and quickly tested the blade that came out of the front. It worked perfectly and she carefully pushed it back in against her doorframe. It had a few marks from her doing that frequently.

She was happy with her amount of gear and took a breath before she stepped out of her front door. Her chakra seal did the work for her as she pulled it shut behind her and began walking towards ANBU HQ. The streets were fairly quiet since it was still early in the morning but there was a few shinobi heading toward the front gate, more than likely leaving on a mission and a few people setting up in the market place.

Without any deviations to her path, she walked into HQ and looked at the few other people who were there. They all had masks on, the the typical black and grey ANBU gear. One had a white cloak on as well and she headed over to them after they gestured for her to approach them. They silently handed her a plain white mask, which she put on without hesitation, tying it up behind her head.

Another masked shinobi walked in, and everyone stood to attention. They had a deep red cloak on and their mask was black. She had no idea who it was, but gathered that was the person in charge and followed along with what everyone else did. Shinobi were supposed to be able to adapt to any situation, but she felt that her nervousness was making her react slower than usual.

“We have four new ANBU candidates today, and each Captain has been assigned one candidate on their team today. Captains, please assemble your teams. I will be handing each of you mission details which you must complete in conjunction with the other teams. This mission is real. It is no drill. There are no second chances.” they spoke with a calm, and emotionless voice that just made her more nervous.

As best she could, she took a few breaths as she was called over to the same team that the person who gave her the mask was on. They had their normal animal patterns, but hers being plain just made her feel like she would stand out even more than necessary. She did feel a little better at hearing she wasn’t the only person trying out today though.

Her group's Captain took a hold of the mission scroll and she waited for her orders. She was given an armband to indicate her position as medic and made sure it was tight. The other groups began to move out and their Captain moved closer to the group so that they could explain their orders.

“Right, today we are seeing if our medic here is up to ANBU standards. The other teams will try and beat us to the punch here, so if you aren’t paying attention and working together, we aren’t going to go well.” his voice was fairly casual, but she knew that he was being completely serious. She had a feeling she knew who was under the mask, but wasn’t exactly going to blurt it out.

“So, we are all supposed to be trying to catch a group of missing nin. If we can’t capture them, our orders are to kill them. There is 8 altogether and the four groups are working together to get them. There is only two other medics here, so we will be sticking with the other group over there, but simultaneously working against them. If you need to heal someone, do it. That’s your job, kay?” when she nodded once, he continued. “I’ve seen you in action at the hospital, but ANBU medics are on a completely different level in regards to how they handle the work in the field.”

Hitori was glad that the mask was covering her face, because although she kept her eyes the same to hide her sudden wave of concern, the tension in her jaw would have given it away. She could _probably_ handle the two teams on her own, so long as no one received mortal injuries.

“It will take us roughly three hours travelling hard to get to their last known location. It was confirmed by our scouts just before we received our orders, so let’s hope they are still there. Move out!” the Captain gestured towards the door and everyone readied themselves.

They left through the main gate and began travelling towards their targets. They travelled hard, and Hitori readied herself to fight at any moment, ensuring that she channelled enough chakra through her body to keep the lactic acid at bay and keep her muscles flooded with oxygen. The other team they were with was keeping up with them, roughly 15 metres on their right. The first two teams were in front of them, slightly offset. Briefly, she made eye contact with the Captain of their team, who gave her a quick nod before he looked back in front of him.

As they continued, she focused on the feel of both team’s chakra. She carefully assessed them, keeping in mind how they felt naturally. The best way for her to figure out if something was wrong from a distance was to understand their baseline well. Doing that while they were moving, actively using their chakra was perfect way to get their baseline. So she focused, memorising everything she could, every ripple and detail that they made on their travels.

Once they had arrived in the vicinity, their Captain gave them a heads up and they all prepared themselves mentally for the battle ahead. He dropped back to run with her, and spoke.

“You ready, girlie? Make sure you stay back and you’re ready to heal us at any given moment. That’s what we need from you today.” his eyes were dark and blank as he spoke.

“Then let’s not be reckless and make unnecessary work for me. I’ll be pissed if someone does something stupid.” she retorted with a smirk, even though she knew he couldn’t see it.

“I think you’ll fit in fine here.” he said with an amused tone before heading back to the front of the cell.

The group was camping out in a small, somewhat hidden clearing and the first cell came upon them first and began their assault. Hitori gathered that the team in front was comprised of those who had the best abilities for shock combat, and surprising the enemy, the ones who were fast and could disable as many opponents as possible before they had time to organise and fight back. They would have long, and wide range abilities and explosive techniques to really push through the front lines. She could hear the sounds of the battle as their group approached last and her team joined the fray.

Medics were brilliantly trained in evasion and the ability to stay out of the front lines, however, Hitori was bad at staying back. She knew that she needed to follow orders, but she had leapt in out of necessity on more than one occasion. ANBU was different however, she would be severely reprimanded for disobeying direct orders, and since she wasn't even an operative yet, she needed to be on her best behaviour.

One of the other team members leapt over to her with a kunai sticking out of their shoulder, and she worked swiftly to get them fighting fit again. It took her less than a minute to stop the bleeding, close the wound as best she could, although they would more than likely open it up again in the course of combat. Just before they were able to rejoin the fight, one of the enemy nin approached them from her left and she felt her jutsu get just the right spot, ignoring the sound of her patient yelling in her ear.

It only took a second, but she stopped healing them, focused her chakra and her hand took hold of a kunai from the holster on her thigh and she used her jutsu to push into the shadows on the enemy's’ chest and slit his throat. Her patient swifting stopped yelling, and she tapped him on his injured shoulder to let him know she was done and he could rejoin the fight. He was stunned, but refocused quickly and leapt back into the fray of jutsu.

Since she had healed someone, she knew that now the enemy shinobi would begin to target her. Taking out your enemy’s medic was the best way to ensure that you could win the fight. Killing the leader of the group didn’t always work. She could hear her allies yelling in code to each other, they had only captured one enemy shinobi so far and things were getting out of hand. The element of surprise was gone now and their opponents were fighting back with impressive teamwork.

Hitori managed to land a kunai she threw into someone’s side, although she had aimed for the inside of their leg, hoping to sever their femoral artery. They had lost their footing and it ended up planted in between their ribs, which meant it wouldn’t be taken out too easily. Two members of the second team captured him and cuffed him, meaning he was out of the fight. They gave her a nod of thanks and began attacking one of the enemy nin with Doton Jutsu. He was giving their whole team trouble by moving the terrain around to their advantage, which was a well-practiced skill from what Hitori could tell.

One of the third team members had Suiton Jutsu so she discovered as they used the Water Gun jutsu to force back two enemy nin, which soaked them in the process. Seeing her chance, she concentrated as best she could. Having mastered this only in training, she knew it was daring to do it in the field, but her ally was in a corner and no one else had noticed that they needed help. Using her jutsu, she reached through after grabbing two senbon and charging them with Raiton natured chakra, and threw them into the two nins backs, disabling their movement and paralysing them. The attack drained her, but her chakra control made it less devastating. She still had plenty to heal her team. 

There was jutsu and weapons flying everywhere, and even a two on two sword fight happening on Hitori’s right, when her Captain leapt up to her, a massive sword slash on his back. It wasn’t deep, but the gash stretched from his right shoulder blade to his left hip, and would be inhibiting his movement severely. She got to work, using two hands to cover the large wound and treated him, sending him back into the fray in just over a minute.

She couldn’t catch a break though, as the member of the third team she helped before was on her left, limping over as best they could with their calf muscle practically cut in half. Growling in frustration, she got to work, telling them to continue standing so that she didn’t heal it too short in her rush, stopping them from running properly. They were stuck there for around 3 minutes, and she was breathing heavily by the time they went back to the fight again.

Luckily, they had won the upper hand in those few minutes and most of the enemy shinobi were captured, with a few dead, including the one she had killed earlier. She dodged a few shuriken that flew her way, before her Captain sliced open the enemy’s leg with his ninjato, making him drop like a sack of potatoes. The biggest trouble was getting past the Doton using shinobi, whose defenses were working well for him and stopped her team from getting to him. Unfortunately, there was no shadow for her to take advantage of, so she couldn’t help in this scenario either.

Eventually, he was the last of his group still standing, and didn’t last much longer with so many Konoha shinobi attempting to capture him or kill him and the Captain of the first team landed a good strike with their Katon Jutsu. It shocked him enough for them to get past his brute strength defense and capture him. With him, they had captured 5 shinobi and 3 were dead.

The trip back would be long since they had to escort the 5 still living, but with their large entourage, they wouldn’t have much trouble. The 3 dead ones had been dealt with, stored in special scrolls that must be ANBU standard issue, since she had never seen them before. ANBU quite frequently had to take enemy shinobi back to Konoha for examination, and it made sense now how they transported them. She had always wondered how they did it.

They went into a box formation on the way back, ensuring that there was shinobi surrounding their captives, not only from the ground, but above as well, keeping an eye out in the canopy for any approaching threats. Luckily, Hitori had been given reign to move around the formation and heal their teammates on the way back. She gathered that her Captain had asked her to do this as a test of her skill and endurance, since she had already healed a few decent injuries today, as well as participated in the fight itself. She had no problem getting everyone fixed up, but ensured that she didn’t overdo it. The finer details and smaller, superficial wounds would either heal with time, or they would get fixed up at the hospital.

It took their team just over 5 hours until they arrived back in Konoha, all of them were exhausted as they made their way through the village gates. They all headed straight to headquarters and placed their captives in their cells and left them with the guards. Since they were all in fairly good shape, the red-cloaked ANBU told them all to stay for a quick debriefing before they headed to the hospital.

“So, I see you’ve brought back 5 of them alive. The other 3 are in transportation scrolls, I take it?” their voice was just a deep and blank as before.

“Yes, sir.” one of the second team members tapped their chest, indicating that’s where the scrolls where. “I’ll leave them with the examination team when I take my team to the hospital to get checked out.”

“Each Captain will give me a report on the mission itself and a separate report on their candidate’s performance. I expect it here by this time tomorrow.” the black-masked ANBU nodded to dismiss them, but waved Hitori and her Captain over.

“How did she fare healing two teams?” he asked her Captain, as Hitori stood there wondering why they didn’t ask her directly.

“As you can see, everyone is in fairly good shape. I told her to rotate through the two teams on the way back to ensure everyone was okay and she seems to still have stamina left.” Hitori was definitely certain it was Genma under the mask now, especially since his usual nonchalant voice and body language had fully returned.

“I’m not surprised. She has treated me once before in the hospital and was quite proficient.” He turned toward Hitori and she stood a little straighter. “I’m glad to see that the Hokage convinced you to try out.” their tone softened slightly, but she still had no idea who it was.

“Thank you. I hope I did well enough to be considered worthy of the ANBU ranks.” she bowed her head respectfully.

“You will be called to headquarters in three days to find out if you have passed the test and will become an ANBU operative. For now, head up to the hospital with your teammates.” he gestured towards the door politely and she bowed her head again before she left with her Captain.

“You did a good job today.” her Captain gave her a quick pat on the shoulder as they made the short trip to the hospital.

“Thank you. I was worried that I overstepped a little.” she spoke a little more casually now, matching him.

“Nah, it usually just depends on who is leading the mission. Me? I don’t mind if you are trying to stop your teammates from getting killed, so long as you aren’t putting yourself at risk. However, some of the more uptight Captains don’t want you doing anything but healing your team.” he shrugged before he stretched his arms out and rolled his shoulders a few times. “My advice is, if you get in, just play it safe until you know what your boundaries are with each Captain.”

“I’ll remember that. Thank you for the advice.”

She gave him an appreciative nod as they walked in the hospital doors and she went over to the triage nurses to discuss the wounds she had healed on her teammates to ensure that they were checked over thoroughly. Sakura came over to examine a couple and gave Hitori a nudge with her elbow that no one else noticed. Hitori knew it was an encouraging gesture and smiled, glad her face was hidden by the mask.

It was about an hour before they all got cleared to leave or admitted, the guy whose calf had been severed being one of them. Hitori was able to leave since she could deal with any wounds herself, and she shuffled her feet slowly into the bathrooms before she left. She had been desperate to relieve herself, but stayed to make sure that everyone was okay first.

She removed her mask, concealing it in her cloak before she headed back out and waved goodbye to Sakura, who gave her a beaming smile as she healed someone who was bleeding profusely. Laughing at her friend, she put her hands in her pockets and walked towards home. The three days she had to wait for her results were going to be annoying, since she obviously wouldn’t be able to leave the village on a mission to pass the time. She could possibly pester Haruko for information, to see if he knew anything about the decision, but she didn’t want to put him in an awkward spot.

Heading through the marketplace, she grabbed a few things so she would have some fresh produce for the next few days, being lucky enough to catch them before they closed. She was much too lazy to cook now, being exhausted after the huge day she had and grabbed some takeaway for dinner. It was just an easy stir fry noodle box, but it was enough to fill her up.

As she arrived home, she used her chakra to unseal the door, and went inside, feeling it seal behind her. She didn’t really need to seal it with chakra, considering she was in a building that had half shinobi and half civilians, but it was just part of being a shinobi to be paranoid. Reluctantly, she unpacked her groceries, placing them where they belonged in her kitchen before she sat down at her small dining table to eat.

Cracking apart the wooden chopsticks, she shovelled in a mouthful of noodles and almost cried because they were still so fresh that they were burning hot. Not making the same mistake again, she blew softly on the next few mouthfuls so she didn’t end up with no tastebuds for the next week, and kept eating. The only thing that interrupted her meal was her occasional yawn and she scrunched her nose up as they became more frequent and almost stopped her from eating.

Once she finished the box, she tossed it in the garbage before she headed to the bathroom and stripped off everything she was wearing, leaving it in a pile on the floor. She would wash them later, since she would have free time over the next few days. After she was satisfied with her hygiene level, although she was sure the standard would be higher if she wasn’t so tired, she dried herself off and left her wet towel on the floor.

Pulling out a baggy shirt and underwear, she dressed as quickly as she was bothered, which was rather slow, before she flopped down unceremoniously on her bed. She groaned before she shuffled up higher and pulled the blankets over her small form. Having a queen bed for someone her size seemed a little silly, but she never really cared. It stopped her from having any space in her room, but since it was pushed up against the wall, she had just enough room to access her drawers.

Normally, she would spend a few minutes contemplating the mission before she slept, but her earlier nervousness, as well as having more people to heal than usual, had really taken it out of her. Her eyelids were so heavy and she didn’t fight them closing and just focused on slowing her breathing.

It only took another minute before she was snoring lightly...


	4. Loyalty

**Chapter 4 - Loyalty**

All of the shinobi who tried out for ANBU had been summoned to HQ today to find out whether they had been accepted. Hitori watched as two were knocked back and the one before her walked out with their mask, showing that they had been accepted. She was called into the office last and immediately noticed that there was another mask on the table. Standing in front of the desk, leaning against it casually was the same authoritative figure with the dark red cloak and black mask from the try out day.

"Sokkenai Hitori. You did well on the test and have been accepted into the ranks of the Konoha ANBU. Congratulations." He handed her the mask, and she bowed as she accepted it with both hands.

"Thank you for accepting me. I will work hard." she spoke before she rose back up to her full height and the black-masked man nodded for her to be on her way.

She placed her mask inside her vest pocket so that it would be hidden while she made her way back to her apartment, practically skipping the entire way with excitement. She hadn't expected to get in, but she had obviously shown herself to be worthy, and would work hard to ensure she showed them that they made the right choice. Saving lives wasn't always what medics did, but ANBU definitely had higher stakes and more importance. ANBU missions tended to be worth more money as well, not that money was a hugely motivating factor for her.

As she arrived back home, she pulled her mask out and placed it on her small dining table. It was black on one side, and plain white on the other, aside from a curved black line underneath the eyehole. She smiled at it, and figured that it was perfect for her. Half shadowed and half light. Immediately, she wanted to run and find Sakura to tell her, but she was away on a mission. She thought of Haruko, but he was Captaining a mission and wouldn't get back until next week.

A sigh escaped her, and although she was happy with being accepted, she couldn't ignore the wave of loneliness that washed over her…

* * *

_One month later_

The entire village was buzzing with anticipation at the message that had gone out the day before. The Hokage herself had asked all shinobi and civilians who wished to hear the announcement she had to gather in front of the Hokage tower at midday today and Hitori was making her way there now. The crowd was already massive and she gathered that the Jonin already knew what was going on, but the time had come to tell the rest of the village. The elder Jonin had become a much more important political force in the village as of recently, and Hitori knew that there was something big happening. Although it wasn't something you could put your finger on, something had been weird the last few weeks. Just a feeling in the air, nothing identifiable.

She had pressed Sakura for information earlier in the week, but the younger woman had clammed up, and not said a word. Hitori hadn't asked her again, knowing that obviously it was something much too important to reveal yet, even though her curiosity was killing her slowly.  _You'll find out when the time is right,_ Sakura had said, and obviously the time was now.

A moment later, the current Hokage, Senju Tsunade walked out onto the balcony of the Hokage tower and the large group all bowed as best they could, being shoulder to shoulder. Kakashi was standing on her left, and back a few steps, looking uncharacteristically serious and authoritative. The blonde took a breath to speak, and the entire crowd was silent as the grave as she relayed her message.

"Citizens of Konoha. I'm sure some of you have noticed that something has been strange or out of place these last few weeks. I am here today to fill you in on the details of what has been happening, now that the details have been finalised." she wasn't exactly yelling, but the quiet from the people around meant that she didn't have to.

"Several weeks ago, Team Seven captured a man who has believed to be Konoha's enemy for many years. But through his capture, we have discovered, and I personally have confirmed the facts, that Konoha's elders committed a great sin against this man and our village."

There was whispers in the crowd, and the Hokage waited patiently until they died down before she spoke again. Hitori wanted to tell them to keep their damn mouths shut, but she couldn't see anyone around her talking.

"Many years ago, Uchiha Madara attacked Konoha with the power of the Kyuubi. He somehow survived all these years and forced Uchiha Obito to take over his legacy. This we know." Tsunade took a breath, ensuring that she took her time to explain. "What we did not know, is that Obito had also made an alliance with Danzo to get rid of the Uchiha clan for good, something which the other elders pushed for as the Uchiha competed for recognition in the village and the threat of a coup was imminent."

"Before the Uchiha could revolt, the Sandaime gave the order for them to be killed. The Sandaime was forced to do this by Danzo using an ability he had after taking a Sharingan from Uchiha Shisui, that allowed him to control the mind of his target without them knowing. Thus, Madara and Obito got their wish and the Uchiha clan was killed. I'm sure you all remember the name of the man who did this, but we have discovered that Obito was present for the massacre and assisted in the process as well. With this man's presence, he was able to keep Uchiha Sasuke allow, thus keeping the last remaining Sharingan within Konoha." she stopped and took a deep breath before she continued.

"It is unfortunate and tragic that events unfolded this way, but Uchiha Itachi gave up everything to ensure that Konoha did not fall into the hands of the corrupt elders and Danzo. Had the coup gone ahead, it is certain that one of the other great villages would have taken advantage and destroyed us in our weakened state. Keeping his younger brother alive allowed Itachi to stay close to Konoha and ensure that Danzo did not step too far out of line. As Itachi joined Akatsuki, this gave him unparalleled inside knowledge of the enemy and their plan, all led by Madara and Obito from the shadows. Itachi was feeding information to one of my fellow Sannin, Jiraiya, during all this time, and was still a  _loyal Konoha shinobi_." she paused briefly, and Hitori just noticed that the Uchiha was standing next to Kakashi, and her eyes widened as she wondered how long he had been there for.

"For everything that he has done to save Konoha from itself, and for his sacrifices. Not only many years ago, but also during the Shinobi War to help stop Madara and ensure that we were victorious, I would like to pardon Uchiha Itachi of his crimes and allow him to reside in the village once more, and reinstate his rank of Jonin and ANBU Captain. Also…"

Tsunade turned to Itachi behind her, facing her back to the crowd. When she knelt in front of him, even Itachi himself looked visibly shocked from what Hitori could see and the crowd gasped quietly.

"Your loyalty was repaid in blood and death, and in doing that Konoha betrayed you. I would like to apologise on behalf of Konoha, and for the village allowing your family to be killed, and forcing you to become a scapegoat to stop any further threat of an internal revolt or destruction via war. I am certain that the Sandaime also greatly regretted this to occur while the village was under his rule. Please accept my apology and my personal assurance that the elders will be executed for their crimes against you and the rest of Konoha."

She bowed low, forehead to the floor, and only straightened after Itachi had nodded once, accepting her apology and the crowd was silent again. Everyone was in shock at the fact that the Hokage herself had bowed on her knees to him in apology, and Hitori could still feel her eyes were wide as saucers. Hitori had her doubts about the truth of all of this, up until this point. For the Hokage herself to kneel and bow to him, then she couldn't possibly doubt the man.

Tsunade finally turned back toward the crowd and spoke. "If anyone wishes to see me to discuss this matter, make an appointment with Shizune. Thank you for your time."

Tsunade turned away and both Kakashi and Itachi followed suit as the balcony doors shut behind them and the crowd began to dissipate slowly. Everyone was talking softly to their friends and coworkers as they went back about their daily business and Hitori went toward the market. She expected that the stall owners wouldn't be back just yet, probably too busy chatting on their way back, so she just had a look at a few different things and purchased them when the stall owners had returned. Some were far too busy gossiping but she placed her money on their counter anyway.

Aside from reports that Itachi had been on the battlefield during the war, Hitori had only seen Uchiha Itachi in the Bingo Book before, and she had to say that he looked a little different than she expected. She assumed that he was about 4 or 5 years older than her, but he appeared to be closer to 10 years older by his appearance. His hair had been pulled back and reached just below his shoulder blades, and she could see that he looked like he hadn't slept or eaten properly in years from the way his clothes hung on his body. Although she knew he wasn't that much older, obviously everything he had been through had made him appear that way.

As she walked home, she found herself feeling terribly sorry for him. Although he did all of it by choice, as the alternative obviously wasn't good enough, it seemed that he disregarded himself as important and put Konoha first. To avoid the risk of open war with the other large shinobi villages, he had ensured that the planned coup d'etat failed by killing his family on orders from the Sandaime, who was a wise man who loved Konoha dearly. It made sense that he had been under the influence of Danzo's stolen ability to force his hand into order the Uchiha to be slain. As shady as Danzo was, he did do things that helped to keep the village afloat, and Hitori wouldn't have been completely surprised if he had thought he was genuinely doing the right thing. It was either familicide, civil war, or the destruction of his village; the lesser of those evils was the choice Itachi had to make.

She sighed after she shut her front door behind her and packed her groceries away, still thinking about how she had no idea what she would do in such a situation. Her mother had died many years ago, and she had never known her father, so she wasn't exactly sure how she would make such a difficult choice. Surely if she had grown up with a family, it would probably be just as difficult to choose, but not having one just made it harder to step into Uchiha Itachi's shoes.

Even though she couldn't understand fully, Hitori could sympathise that he must be hurting deeply, every single day he walked the earth...

###

Hitori was waiting at the village gates for the rest of her cell to arrive so they could leave on their current mission. They had been ordered to retrieve a jutsu scroll from a rich crime family using whatever tactics they needed to to get it back. Strangely enough, the mission had actually come from Kumo, since the family the scroll belonged to was from Cloud. However, since the scroll was in Fire Country, instead of pissing off Konoha shinobi, they had simply asked them to retrieve it. The message itself had come from the head of the family to Kumo, and the request had been furthered onto Konoha from the Raikage himself.

It was a sign of change.

Such a thing would never happen in past years. If a group of shinobi from another country had to cross borders to complete their mission, they would. No questions asked. This could also be a test of trust between Kumo and Konoha. Although both the Raikage and his brother had a huge deal of respect for Naruto and the Hokage, that didn't immediately mean that their villages would be best friends. Relations had improved massively since the war was over, but it didn't mean they would stay that way. Naruto had recently taken it upon himself to go and visit Kumo as well, under the guise of seeing his friend Killer B, but it was also a chance to strengthen bonds. When he went to visit, he would take the retrieved scroll with him as well.

Kumo were insisting on paying them normal mission rates as well, as ANBU were retrieving it the agents being sent couldn't be identified, just so there wasn't any backlash on either village. They were expecting minimal trouble, but had been warned that the crime family in question had hired shinobi on hand. Whether they were missing nin, or just rogues who didn't belong to a hidden village, they weren't sure. Either way, they were prepared to put up a fight.

Hitori knew that it was Genma who was Captain for the mission, after he came to say hi to her yesterday in HQ to let her know the roster had been changed and they might summon her to go along. Funnily enough, she had been summoned within the hour to get placed on the mission. Since there wasn't many A, S or unranked missions for the ANBU at the moment, this was just a good chance to earn some extra income and get on the Raikage's good side. A favour between villages was always a good idea.

Genma was the last to arrive, and even though everyone was already geared and masked up, she could still recognise him. It was his voice that gave him away. He ordered them to move out, and they headed north east out of the village. Their report from Kumo stated that they received info that the crime family were a few hours from Konoha in a fairly large village. It would take them most of the morning to travel that far, and hopefully they wouldn't have to spend an entire day casing the joint to track down where they were hiding out. Hitori was hoping to get back before the end of the week because Sakura would be going away on a mission, and she wanted to train with her before she left. She and Miho would also be keeping an eye on Sakura's research while she was away, since Shizune would be helping to run the hospital in her absence.

They travelled at a decent pace, and Genma ran them over a few different plans for the mission while they made their way there. Since the village was fairly large, they would definitely have to scout around until they got a lead, and figure out the best plan from there. Sometimes these missions went on for days, but luckily they had been tipped off and had a drawing of the box the scroll was in. It would mean they would have a better chance of finding it since it wouldn't look like a normal scroll on a shelf.

After roughly 4 hours of travel, they arrived at the village and concealed themselves the best they could and began scouting from a distance. It was bigger than Konoha, and much more heavily populated, which would make this whole process slower. Luckily, Hitori's abilities came in handy and she was able to peek inside of each building. Since they were only looking for one scroll though, it wasn't exactly easy to find. When she found somewhere that looked like a possible hideout for the crime family, one of the others went to check it out quickly. They were unlucky, but kept looking.

It took them roughly 4 hours of searching before they found the right place, and the other girl in the cell found the right scroll on the eastern side of the village in a large warehouse. Genma had gone in with her and helped her disable the guards who were ex-shinobi, but they didn't put up too much of a fight. No healing was required when they returned since the scuffle was so minor, and they inspected the box the scroll was contained in to ensure they had the right one. It had the correct family mark, and it didn't appear that the box had even been opened yet, but they finally had what they needed.

Genma gave the all clear and they were able to head home. He allowed them to rest for a while once they were a short distance from the village so that they could eat something before they made their way home. They were on their way again after around 40 minutes, and Hitori had checked everyone's chakra levels to make sure they were still okay to travel home at a reasonable pace. It was habitual, but she was the most tired out of all of them from the extra jutsu use today. Despite this, it was a good idea to have put her on the mission, and she respected whoever made the choice to change the roster.

The sun had set as they arrived back in Konoha, and Genma headed straight to the Hokage Tower to hand in the mission reports and the scroll itself. Hitori said goodbye to the other agents and headed straight home to shower, and get something to eat. She was glad the mission hadn't taken as long as she expected it might once she saw how massive the village was, and guessed they had probably gotten lucky to find the warehouse so quickly. Regardless, now she didn't have to worry about Shizune having to run the hospital and try and keep an eye on Sakura's research and she would also have a chance to train with her pink-haired friend before she left.

Once Hitori had arrived back in her apartment, she stripped off her clothes and sighed at how full her laundry basket was. She didn't have much of a choice but to wash everything tonight, or she wouldn't end up having anything clean to wear tomorrow. With a sigh, she had a quick shower and threw on the tidiest pair of sweatpants and a baggy shirt. After she grabbed a book to amuse herself with, she hauled the massive basket all the way downstairs and headed towards the laundromat.

Only some of the nicer apartment buildings had one of their own, but unfortunately, the closest one was only two streets away. When she got there, it was fairly quiet aside from two other people, since it was time for dinner. The other occupants paid her no mind, and she did the same and went about her business. Once her clothes were washing in one of the huge machines, she sat down on the floor, and leant up against the wall and read her book. During this time, the other two people finished and left, although she didn't notice consciously.

Her first load finished, and she put on a second after she moved the wet clothes to the dryer. Luckily, almost all of her clothes were bought for the sole purpose of being able to put them in the dryer, since shinobi were normally far too lazy to worry about hanging clothes up to dry. Not only that, but she had literally no space in her apartment to hang them up. Unless she somehow strapped a line to the ceiling, it wasn't going to happen. Hence why most clothes were made to be dryer suitable.

Just after she had started her second load, someone entered the laundromat and she instinctively turned at the sound of the door opening. Uchiha Itachi walked in with a small pile of clothes and after she stared for a moment, she remembered her manners and bowed her head respectfully before she went and sat back down. He had returned her gesture, if a little less awkwardly, and she put her nose back in her book once more to leave him to his business.

Unfortunately, her mind had other ideas and began racing with questions that she wanted answers too. How did he manage to survive the War? What was he going to do now that he had been pardoned? Would he go back to active duty? Although his personnel file was locked up tighter than a vault, she had heard rumours during her short time in ANBU about how flawless his record was, both in general missions and in ANBU. His Captaincy and flawless record was revered even now by those who were both alive and old enough to have served alongside him.

Was he having trouble adjusting being back in the village that cost him so much, all for the sake of his loyalty? Where the hell was he living? Surely since the Hokage herself had knelt and

bowed to him in apology for past transgressions, he hadn't just been dumped wherever to fend for himself. Her curiosity had piqued, and although she hadn't looked up from her book, but she certainly wasn't paying attention to it. He had taken a seat on one of the benches by the window only a few metres from her and was leaning his back against the glass with his eyes closed.

Abruptly, the machine beeped to signal her second load was done and she haphazardly tossed her bookmark in and got up to transfer them to the dryer, which only had two more minutes left. She could feel the Uchiha's eyes on her briefly before he must have closed them again, as she placed the last of her wet clothes into her basket, just as the dryer dinged to signal it was finished as well. Her clothes were still lovely and warm, and she threw a warm shirt over her shoulders, just for the feel of it. She felt eyes on her once again for a few seconds as she traded her dry clothes for the wet ones and turned the dryer on once more.

Since she knew she wasn't going to read her book with him here - her mind was racing too much - so she folded her clothes instead. Normally she just shoved them into her drawers and hoped they all fit, but she was an adult and an ANBU shinobi. Surely she should be more organised now, right? So like a proper, responsible adult, she folded her clothes and placed them back in the basket and had about another 20 minutes before the second load was dry. To keep up appearances, she moved back to her spot, and read her book again, somewhat able to focus this time.

Once she had turned the page, Itachi's machine beeped and he transferred his small pile of wet clothes to a dryer and sat back down. It only distracted her momentarily, and before she knew it, her clothes were finished. She folded the second load as well, and popped her book on top before she balanced the basket against her hip and turned to leave. Itachi was looking at her, and she bowed her head again with a slightly awkward smile, and he returned her nod ever so politely.

It was overall a rather strange experience, but she shuffled back to her apartment and put her clothes away, sighing loudly when she was finished. By this point, she was rather hungry, and she heated up some leftovers in her fridge and eat heartily before deciding that she was tired enough to go to bed. Although it was late and she had worked hard today, she still wasn't as tired as she expected.

After tossing and turning for a few hours, she finally fell into a deep sleep...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas! I hope you're all enjoying the holidays!  
> I'm hoping to have another chapter up within the next few days as well :)


	5. Crows

**Chapter 5 - Crows**

_One month later_

Hitori and Haruko were sitting in the barbecue restaurant and they had just ordered. There were a couple of other newer members of ANBU with them as well. Inuzuka Kiba had tried out only last week and gotten in successfully; his tracking skills would definitely come in handy. Akamaru was in attendance as well, of course. There was another girl, thankfully, in amongst the testosterone with her. Her name was Ryuka and she was nice enough, but they didn't really click as well as Hitori did with Haruko. Since Hitori had been in ANBU for a few months now, she didn't feel like a such a rookie any more.

The four of them had just returned from their last mission, which was a simple get in, get the information and get out deal which they completed without any trouble. Haruko had captained the mission, being the most experienced member of their team, and even though Hitori disagreed with a few of his decisions, she had kept her mouth shut and luckily nothing had gone wrong. They had all come back without any injuries and they were perfectly on schedule, which was a rare commodity, especially with ANBU.

One of the older members came in, looking like they were trying to find someone but saw their group first. Hitori only knew him as 'Gruff' because he had a gruff voice. Terrible nickname, but she had no idea what his actual name was, and didn't really have the courage to ask, so she went along with the nickname instead.

"Have you guys heard the news?" he spoke quietly, but even his whisper was just as rough as his normal voice.

"What news?" Kiba asked him quickly, his ears practically perking up at the sound of gossip.

"We are getting a new ANBU Commander. They are taking over control from the Hokage and the old ANBU Commander." he replied, his eyes still wide from the news.

"Who did you hear that from?" Hitori piped up suspiciously.

"Genma." he answered her and the four of them nodded since Genma was a fairly reliable source.

"Do you know who it is?" Ryuka asked as she leant her elbow on the table and her chin on her hand.

"He wouldn't tell me that much. Or maybe he was bluffing and didn't actually know." Gruff crossed one arm over his chest, and brought the other to his chin thoughtfully.

"Isn't it obvious who it's going to be?" Haruko purposely kept his voice casual, but Hitori thought that she might have a good guess. His suspicions were normally fairly good.

"Go on then, know it all. Who's it going to be?" Hitori nudged him in the ribs with her elbow and he glared at her.

"Uchiha Itachi. The man is a fucking legend. He knows how ANBU works, and not only that, his intellect is second only to Yondaime. He's the most logical choice to take on the role. Kakashi will be Hokage soon so it can't be him. It has to be the Uchiha." Haruko lectured their group and watched their various expressions as they took in his educated guess.

He was right. The logical thought would be that the man who just got pardoned and was now a Konoha shinobi again would be the obvious choice. Uchiha Itachi had only become an ANBU Captain when he was 13, and had more experience in the field than probably anyone else in the village aside from maybe Kakashi, and the Hokage herself. Not only that, he had a brilliant understanding of how plenty of organisations worked outside of Konoha, and that extra intelligence would make his mission plans formidable.

"That may actually be quite plausible." Gruff answered after they were all silent for a moment.

"Well, if anyone is taking full charge of ANBU from the Hokage, I want it to be someone who I know is a loyal shinobi. Not someone who uses their own splinter factions, or some old fuck who is so old school they don't even understand my job as a medic. I want to take my orders from someone who fights for our village." Hitori spoke and shrugged. "At least we know that Uchiha Itachi isn't going to turn out like that."

"What do you mean 'turn out like that'? He killed his clan!" Kiba hissed to her in a whisper, not wanting to start a scene in the restaurant before they'd even eaten.

"You heard the announcement. It was on orders from the Sandaime, Danzo and the other elders. Consider the alternative, you fool. Uchihas revolt, kill the Sandaime and take charge after what would end up being a massive shit fight. Konoha is weak, relations with other villages are bad, they take the opportunity to get rid of us for good. I have no doubt that at the time the Tsuchikage would have ordered Iwa to march on us if we were so weakened. Not only that, if ANBU agents did it, the village would be in shambles all the same." Hitori snapped back whilst trying to keep her temper down. She didn't want to argue with him, just make sure he understood the facts.

"She's right, Kiba. It had to be someone inside the clan to ensure there wasn't attacks from the outside, or revolution from the inside." Ryuka backed her up and Hitori gave her a smile in thanks.

"Consider this. Itachi was probably supposed to die with the rest of them, right? The guy was probably desperate to end his pain after killing his family, but there was someone he just couldn't kill."

"Sasuke?"

"Exactly. The guy can't be completely heartless if he couldn't even kill his brother. He probably stayed alive through all his suffering just so no one off Sasuke while his back was turned." Hitori sat back in her seat and pretended to look bored. If her assumption was true, then it was a terrible fate to be subjected to.

"Anyway, my date is here, so eat up kids." Gruff said as he looked to the doorway, finding whoever he was eating with before giving them a nod and disappearing.

Conveniently, their food arrived just after he left and that kept them all quiet for the most part. They had all been there and heard Tsunade announce what had happened and tell them all the reasons behind what the elder of the surviving Uchiha brothers had done. She had to admit that she felt incredibly sorry for him, for going through all of that, but she admired him as well. The fact that he still felt loyal to Konoha after all that the village had put him through, and all that he had sacrificed to keep it safe, was absolutely incredible. Now that there was news of someone taking command of ANBU, it just had to be him. The correlation was undeniable. Even if it didn't end up being true, at least the theory in itself was somewhat plausible.

She kept her mouth full to avoid joining in on the rest of their conversations, having had enough of speaking for the time being. It wasn't that she didn't like being social, it was just that she preferred it in small doses, and she had basically had enough already. The only reason she agreed to come and eat with them was because Kiba was dating the girl who managed the restaurant and was giving them cheap food.

Once they had finished eating, Hitori threw her money toward Kiba and said goodbye before she vaulted herself over the booth to escape. That would keep her social side satisfied for at least a few weeks and her spare time would be spent reading and drinking tea until she felt up to eating out with friends again. Haruko wouldn't pester her to come out for a while either.

There was very few people who didn't exhaust Hitori, and she didn't actually mind giving up her time by herself to hang out with. Haruko was okay mostly, unless he was in a bad mood but usually he kept his distance when he was, making it easier for her. They had known each other for a few years since they had been on a couple of missions together, and had been friends since. She wouldn't say they were crazy close or inseparable by any means, but she didn't mind if he rocked up at her place for some tea, or if he wanted to go out and eat with her.

Kakashi was another whose company she didn't mind, although he tended to avoid most people like the plague, unless they had something he wanted, or he was using them to escape someone else. She had done this for him a couple of times, and they had a few discussions over the years, mostly just when they ran into each other at the cemetery when they were visiting those they lost. They had eaten together once or twice over the years, but never more than that. But his casual air always made her feel at ease, and she appreciated that.

Sakura was the only female friend she had, and they had always gotten along fairly well. They shared common ground in their medical work, though Hitori couldn't hold a candle to Sakura's skill and knowledge. They also shared a temper, but they also held the people around them in high regard, and would do anything for them. Hitori would probably say that she was closer to Sakura than anyone else.

Unfortunately for Hitori though, the people around her were few. But for this reason, Hitori took solace in knowing that she only kept the people around her that she deemed worthy of her appreciation. She also made a habit of frequently visiting the orphanage that she had grown up in, ensuring that the children there had everything they needed and had someone that they could look up to. Although she wasn't sure if she was the best role model, she figured that externally she could pretend just enough to get by. A lot of the kids had already expressed an interest in attending the Academy and she had helped to fund a few of them to go through, the oldest being in his third year now.

As she strolled through the village, she went past the marketplace that was now closed, since it was late in the evening, and past the few small shops on the way to her house. ANBU HQ was on the corner of her street, which was convenient, and there seemed to be quite a buzz from inside. She was curious, but not enough to break her gait. It was more than likely to do with the rumor about getting an ANBU Commander, so she wasn't too phased. She would find out later when everything was official. There was too many people in there for her to feel comfortable anyway.

Keeping her hands in her pockets, and her eyes on the ground in front of her, she strolled back to her medium sized, one bedroom apartment. After making her way slowly up the stairs, she used a small flash of chakra to make the door open for her, since she never bothered with locking it, and used a chakra seal to keep any unwanted visitors out. Considering it was a shinobi village, it wouldn't give some of the more talented people pause, but it was more or less a deterrent. Some of the people who lived in her building were civilians, and they certainly wouldn't get through, not that she needed to worry about that anyway. The only time someone had let themselves in when Sakura had left her a few things in her fridge the day she got back from a very long mission. The younger woman had obviously known her well enough then to know she wasn't going to cook anything that would require a decent amount of effort, and would probably get takeaway.

Once she headed inside, she filled up her kettle and placed it on the slowly warming stove element. She went and grabbed her book from her bedside table and leant against the kitchen counter and read until the kettle whistled. After she had made herself a pot of tea, she moved to the small living room, which had a two-seater lounge and a coffee table. Nothing too fancy. Instead of sitting on the lounge itself, she sat on the floor with her back against it so she wouldn't have to lean over to get her tea. Her rear end would end up going numb eventually, but she would deal with that later. That was future Hitori's problem.

Right now, she just wanted to have some tea and read her book. Only she couldn't focus on her book. The only thing that she could focus on is the strange emptiness that she felt sometimes. She had just been out with a few of her friends, but she still felt lonely, dare she admit it to herself. It frustrated her to no end that she didn't like hanging out with people most of the time, but was very aware of how alone she was at other times. Luckily, she appreciated the time she got to herself and knew how to enjoy her own company. But that didn't stop her from occasionally feeling like she was missing something. It wasn't as if she just wanted a cat, or a new set of kitchen knives. It was just a deep seated feeling that she couldn't properly identify or ignore. Most of the time, she just pretended it wasn't there, but with her ANBU missions lately, she had been getting more time off since some of the missions weren't able to be done by a rookie. It had given her more time to think, and maybe she was just being weird.

Since no one had gotten injured or there weren't any severe complications on her mission, her current group would be back in the active rotation within the next few days and then hopefully there would be something for them to do.

Hopefully the transition with the new ANBU Commander would be out of the clunky stages by the time they got back from their next mission and the novelty would be over…

###

"Sokkenai Hitori." she turned away from Haruko, whom she was having lunch with and looked to see the ANBU behind her. "You are summoned."

She nodded to them and Haruko gave her a nod as well as she looked at him, and she knew that he would take the rest of her lunch to her place for her so she could go straight to the Hokage tower. After a brief sigh because she was so hungry, she got up and power walked towards her destination.

Once she headed up the several flights of stairs to the floor where the Hokage's office was, she saw Sakura in the secretary's seat, rather than Shizune. She tilted her head to one side in confusion, and the pink haired girl waved to her after noticing her.

"Hey Sakura. Shizune not here today?" she leant over and rested her forearms on the desk Sakura was sitting at and the younger woman nodded.

"Yeah, she's running the hospital today. She wants to make sure her medical skills are still sharp so I cover for her every now and then." Sakura explained and shuffled some papers aside. "It shouldn't be too much longer if you've been summoned now. Itachi has been in there for about two hours now, so I haven't had much to do." she shrugged and Hitori narrowed her eyes.

"Has the Hokage been copping flack for letting him back in the village?" Hitori asked, hoping that Itachi wasn't having too rough of a time. The man had been through enough.

"Not as much as she expected. A lot of shinobi heard about his attempts to slow down Madara and Obito in the war even though he was almost dead himself, so most of them have figured out that something wasn't right." Sakura explained with a half shrug.

"Makes sense."

Before Hitori could say anything else, the door to the Hokage's office opened and Uchiha Itachi, the man himself strolled out. Hitori stood up, putting her hands behind her back to appear professional and Sakura gave him a friendly smile.

"All done?" Sakura asked him and he nodded in confirmation. "Itachi, does midday tomorrow work for you? I'll be on my break then so I'll be able to see you." Sakura asked him and Hitori looked away like she wasn't paying attention.

"That is fine." His voice was much softer and deeper than Hitori expected, barely louder than a whisper.

"Well, I'll see you then."

She gave him another friendly smile and he glanced to Hitori quickly. For a lack of knowing what else to do, she decided to be respectful since he was technically a Jonin and an ANBU Captain after being reinstated. It lasted roughly two seconds but she felt him eyeing her carefully for a moment before he returned her polite gesture with a brief bow of his head. He disappeared quickly and silently as Hitori was left standing and feeling strangely awkward.

"What did you bow to him for?" Sakura asked with an amused lilt to her voice.

"He is technically an ANBU Captain  _and_  a Jonin. Just being respectful considering he outranks and outclasses the shit out of me." Hitori smirked devilishly and headed into the Hokage's office, leaving Sakura to chuckle softly at her desk.

Hitori bowed as she entered and closed the door behind her and waited until Tsunade had been finished organising her mound of paperwork. The blonde sighed tiredly and finally looked up at her.

"I completely forgot I summoned you. Hang on." She rifled through the paperwork again and found the right one after a few seconds. "Ah, there you are. I have a mission for you."

"Not ANBU?" Since she hadn't been summoned with her code name, it had to be a normal mission.

"No. We need to collect some medical herbs from an area just inside of the Grass border. You can identify them well enough so that's why I'm sending you." Tsunade answered and wrote a few notes down on her paperwork. "You've got two fresh trainees going with you so you can load them up with supplies and teach them how to handle the plants correctly."

Hitori nodded as she gestured her to approach and grab some pictures from her of the plants they needed and how much they needed. She recognised them for poison usage and knew that she would have to make sure the kids were careful collecting them.

"It should only take you a few days and feel free to push the newbies a bit on the travelling pace. They need to increase their stamina anyway." Tsunade was actively encouraging her to be a role model and Hitori wasn't quite sure how she would go.

"You can go to Sakura to collect your mission allowance before you go. You leave first light tomorrow."

Hitori nodded and bowed before she left, and shut the door behind her. Sakura was preparing her envelope with her mission allowance and she handed it to her with a smile. The dark haired woman leant against the desk and checked it, thinking over what she would able to spend each day to make sure her and the two newbies were fed and watered. She hoped to avoid staying overnight somewhere but she would have to play it by ear. Hopefully she would just make the young ones suck it up and sleep outside.

"Thanks. Got some newbies to look after." Hitori mentioned off handedly since Sakura would already know the details.

"Yeah, have fun with that. I know you love kids so much." Her tone was sarcastic and she chuckled softly.

Hitori was already strolling away, her mission allowance in her pocket. She waved over her shoulder and made her way down the stairs and out of the building. It only took her a few minutes to get home and she was proactive enough to kill time by packing her bag and laying out her weapons, holsters and clothes for tomorrow morning. After she made a pot of tea, she took a seat at her dining table and read a book until it was late enough to shower and get some rest.

She had babysitting to look forward to tomorrow so she would need all the sleep she could get...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all have a Happy New Year!!!


	6. Job Titles

**Chapter 6 - Job Titles**

"Come on, Hitori. You're usually faster than me!" Sakura called out from the other side of the training ground as Hitori tried to dodge every kunai and shuriken her friend was throwing at her.

They had finally gotten a chance to train together, and they had been here for two hours already. They always focused on keeping their evasion ability sharp, since it was so important for medical ninja to be able to avoid mortal injury at all costs. Stamina was a massive factor, and since they had both spent their weapon stores by throwing them at each other, they were both getting a decent workout.

"That's all I've got left." Sakura shrugged after a massive fuuma shuriken landed with a heavy thud in a tree behind Hitori, as she jumped high to dodge it.

"Shall we work on taijutsu?" Hitori suggested and saw Sakura nod in answer.

The younger woman grinned darkly, and charged at her with her full speed and Hitori groaned even though she had made the suggestion. For the next half an hour, they used every technique and every combination they had within their arsenal. Being medics, they were able to heal themselves as they went, though Sakura had a massive advantage being able to heal any damage almost instantly. Hitori was nowhere near as proficient in that regard, and they eventually had to stop so she could fix up the worst of the damage. Sakura helped to speed up the process before they went at it again.

Since they sparred and trained together fairly often, they knew each other's' attack patterns and strategies quite well, and constantly had to think outside the box to try and take the other off guard to gain the upper hand in the fight. Fighting against Sakura meant that Hitori didn't have to hold back her strength as well, though Sakura had to make sure she didn't shatter the earth beneath them or her friends skull.

Around midday, they stopped to collect their weapons and ate their picnic lunch, which Sakura had brought along. As always, it was delicious, and Hitori was as jealous as ever of her ability to heal, cook, and just generally be amazing. Once she had finished eating, she still had plenty of time to go to her next appointment for the day.

"I've got to go. Got that ANBU meeting today. They are finally announcing the new Commander. Then I've got to head off first thing tomorrow for a mission." she stood up and dusted herself off, before extending a hand to Sakura to help her stand.

"How interesting." her tone suggested that she knew exactly who it was, but Hitori didn't press her. "Miho should have your extra stuff too. The batch was completed yesterday. Thanks for training and hanging out. I'll see you soon, okay?"

"Yeah, thanks again. Take it easy." Hitori strolled towards HQ and waved over her shoulder at her friend.

It was a short walk and it seemed that mostly everyone had already arrived. They didn't have much space on the ground level floor, but everyone squished to make space. She found Haruko in the crowd and stood with him, since he was the only person she actually knew and could see from here. They chatted quietly until the familiar black-masked figure appeared in the doorway with a few more people trailing behind. The first one she recognised was Hatake Kakashi. Although he had retired from ANBU a long time ago, since he was being groomed for Hokage, Hitori guessed that he was here for politics sake. Behind him, a slightly shorter man with long dark haired pulled into a ponytail.

Haruko and her were right. It was Uchiha Itachi.

Kakashi and the black-masked man walked to the front, while Itachi hung off to the side as the entire room went dead silent as they waited for one of them to speak. The Copy Nin spoke up first.

"As you all know, we have been looking for someone to be given the position of a full time ANBU Commander. This will allow the Hokage much more time to focus on the relations we are developing and improving with the other hidden villages." His single dark eye looked over the crowd evenly.

"I have been looking to retire from ANBU for a while, due to laziness and old age, and both Hatake and I are glad to announce that we have found a new Commander who will taking over both my role, and the Hokage's involvement in ANBU." the black-masked man rebounded off Kakashi and Itachi stepped forward next to them.

"This is Uchiha Itachi. I'm sure that a small number of you have worked with him previously or remember his flawless career as an ANBU Captain. There is no one else in Konoha with a better record and more knowledge of ANBU than him, and he will have no problems ensuring that we are running at 100 percent. From now on all training, team selection, mission assignments will be completed by him." Kakashi gestured toward the younger man, who bowed his head in greeting.

"I look forward to working with you all." Itachi's voice was deeper than she expected, and although it was so quiet, everyone in the room would have heard him. It seemed that despite his apparently introverted nature, his reputation alone would command attention when he spoke. Not that she was surprised by that fact.

The crowd mostly dispersed as the veterans and Captains went over to greet their new Commander and Haruko nudged Hitori goodbye as he did the same. She disappeared into the crowd and headed outside. She still needed to get her gear together for the mission tomorrow. Since it was an assassination, she was expecting to need a lot more medical supplies, and she had planned to go by the hospital and pick up a few things. Sakura had asked Miho, her assistant, to put a special poison together for her, and she strolled towards the massive white building to pick it up.

Miho was in the triage area tending to someone, but saw her immediately and gestured that she wouldn't be too long. Hitori gave her a thumbs up and waited near the seating area. Once the patient was admitted and Miho came back out from the examination room, she shuffled past to where Sakura's office was, and brought out a bag filled with loads of medical supplies. It was way more than she expected, but she was grateful anyway.

She thanked her and headed back towards home. Once she arrived, she got out her ANBU standard issue gear, and began packing her cloak with all of the supplies she thought she might need on hand. The others went into a small storage scroll that would live in her cloak pocket until she needed to use it. After she had all of her gear laid out, she cooked herself a good dinner with plenty of protein to get her through the next few days and spent a good hour or so in the shower lost in her thoughts.

Hitori was not in the slightest bit surprised that the new Commander had ended up being the Uchiha. Haruko's suspicions were usually always or partially correct, and he had definitely kept up his reputation with this guess. She was however, incredibly glad to know that she was working underneath someone like Uchiha Itachi. Aside from his brilliant intellect, near perfect mission record, and being a natural born leader despite his soft spoken nature, he was a loyal and honourable shinobi. It was the exact sort of person she wanted to take her orders from. Someone who she could trust to have Konoha's best interests at heart. Despite the reputation he had, he seemed like one of the most humble people she had ever laid eyes on. She had also heard he had quite a pacifistic side from growing up during the Third Shinobi World War. From a distance, she gathered that he was the sort of person who never considered himself as important; only those he cared for were important.

Since she had few friends and no family, she hoped that she was even half as self-sacrificing as the Uchiha. Her career as an ANBU operative had only just started and she supposed she deserved a bit of credit for blending in so easily thus far. She would never get up to his level, but she still wanted to be the best ANBU agent and medic she could be. Now that she had successfully gotten into ANBU, her next goal would be to master her second release and go for the jonin exams at the end of the year.

Her skin had pruned before she finally emerged from her shower and she dried herself off. Until it was late enough for her to go to bed, she curled up on her lounge with a pot of tea, with a good book in hand...

* * *

Itachi was sitting quietly in the waiting room at the hospital for Sakura to finish her current appointment. He had arrived a little earlier than expected but at least he wasn't late. Since he had arrived back in Konoha, he had spent the first few days in ANBU HQ, and then been admitted to the hospital for the following three weeks. The only time he returned now was when he had appointments with Sakura. Although he had desperately needed the rest, spending so long in here had driven him mad.

On his left, he heard a commotion from the emergency triage, and saw a short female who was helping her much taller comrade walk toward the nearest nurse. She had her arm around his waist and her hand was glowing green with healing chakra. They both had ANBU masks on, and he didn't recognise either of them. They had probably been sent on their mission before he had started his job or just after, which would be why he hadn't met them yet. So far, he had only met roughly three quarters of the ANBU operatives, since some were on missions in far away countries, or just long term jobs that they wouldn't return from yet. There was a few teams returning this week, and he would meet them when they turned in their mission reports. He had been dealing with everything fairly well, and the biggest hurdle was just getting used to knowing who worked well together, each shinobi's abilities and specialities, and the missions suited them and their skills. However, once he knew everyone, he would only have to account for a few new operatives every few months.

Abruptly, the man went limp and he fell straight to the floor, taking the woman partially with him. Somewhere between him falling and some orderlies helping him up, the woman's mask had been pulled off, and it landed on the floor with a clunk. No one paid attention since there wasn't many people in the room, but he watched carefully. He saw her turn toward him to pick up her mask and examined her face as she prepared to put it back on before anyone saw.

She had a oval shaped, finely structured face with a feminine jawline. Her eyes were big and appeared to be a silvery-gray colour from a distance. Her cheekbones weren't too high, but they were evenly pronounced without making her look gaunt. Although her mouth seemed small, her full lips fit perfectly in with the rest of her face. Even though her brow was knitted together in a concerned frown, in the back of his mind, he acknowledged that he thought she was rather attractive. He also faintly recalled seeing her somewhere else before, but couldn't place his finger on it.

The other two members of their cell came into view, dragging their feet tiredly. They both sat down and once the taller male was given a bed, the woman sat next to them and let her head roll back after she replaced her mask. One of the doctors came out to speak to her a moment later and she stood up and began to explain the treatment she had given her cell, and Itachi realised that she was the medic. A cut on her arm was disappearing as she spoke, and it seemed that now her teammates were in good hands, she was treating herself. A good medic should always put themselves first, but now she could heal her more superficial wounds.

After the doctor left her, she sat back down and rested her head on her nearest comrades shoulder. In turn, they rested theirs on her head and they both relaxed. Itachi watched quietly, until one of the nurses called his name to tell him 'Head Medic Haruno' was ready for him. He thanked her with a nod and headed to the second room on his right. The first room on the right was a small break room and there was a few staff relaxing and eating in there as he passed before turning into Sakura's doorway.

"Hey Itachi. How are you?" Haruno Sakura asked from behind her desk as she jotted down various things in someone's file.

"I'm well, thank you. And yourself?" He replied politely.

"Busy as always, but not too bad." She gestured to the seat in front of him and he pulled it out and sat down. "So, any migraines or headaches since I last saw you?"

"One migraine, but I was able to preempt the worst of it with the medication you gave me." He answered evenly and watched as she closed the file and grabbed another from her pile, which he guessed was his own.

"Did you have an aura beforehand?" She waited until he nodded, "How long did it last?"

"Roughly 5 hours, but it was tolerable so long as I was in a dark, quiet space."

"Okay then. And how about your illness? Any coughing fits, fevers, or vomiting?" She was scribbling madly in his file, and he had no idea what she was writing.

"None since we last met." She nodded and continued writing.

"Okay. Let me just have a quick look at everything and I can probably send you on your way."

Sakura stood up and came around to his side of the desk, and she took a seat in the chair next to him. Placing her fingers on his temples, he felt her chakra wave through his body as she examined him thoroughly, from his head to his toes. She lingered on his eyes and torso the most, and pulled away once she was done and gave him a smile.

"Everything seems okay. We will do another big healing session on your eyes and then give it another week before we do another session for your illness. Your body will need to rest in between so we will book for about an hour the same time next week?" She half asked, half told him and he nodded in agreement in response.

"Alright. I'll make all my notes for what I want to work on for each session and if you need to see me before next week, just pop in."

Smiling at him again, she stood up and opened her door. He thanked her and said goodbye before he headed out and turned right to leave the hospital. He went right past the ANBU agents that were still in the same spot as before. Chances are they might have even fallen asleep, since it wasn't entirely uncommon. For a moment, he considered going and speaking to them, but if they were asleep, he would prefer to leave them that way.

Instead, he headed back to his room in HQ which was as quiet as ever and took a seat in the tiny wooden chair at the tiny wooden table. Aside from a single cot bed, it was the only furniture in the room, and he sighed slowly.

Although he was back in Konoha, had a job, and was creating a new life for himself, he still didn't feel like he was truly  _home_..

* * *

Itachi made his way up to his office early in the morning, since he didn't really have anywhere else to go. He figured getting an early start on the few mission reports he didn't get a chance to go through yesterday might make his life a little bit easier. Maybe he would take the afternoon off and head over to the training grounds, get out of HQ for a change. He had barely left the building since he started his work here and he was slowly going stir crazy. The trip to the marketplace every other day and to the laundromat every week had barely held him over. So far with his healing process, Sakura had banned him from intensive training, only allowing him to do basic target practice and simple jutsu. He hadn't wanted to undo her hard work, so he had listened and stayed away from the grounds to stop himself from pushing too hard.

There was only a few shinobi there, shuffling around and he asked for two cells of shinobi to be summoned as he had two missions to assign. They would arrive in the next 15 minutes or so, so he busied himself with tidying his desk until they got there. Wasn't any point in starting his other work until that was out of the way.

The Captain of the second cell arrived first and once their team had assembled, he called them in and handed them the mission log and gave them any extra information. Once they were dealt with, he called in the first team and did the same with them. Now that was over, he went through the few reports he missed out on doing yesterday.

As he was halfway through the second report, he heard a knock on his door. It was the cell that he had seen in the hospital two days prior. He gestured for them to come in and came out from behind his desk since he had yet to meet them. They took off their masks and introduced themselves one by one.

"Commander Uchiha, I am Daisuke Haruko." He bowed, being the first to introduce himself since he was a Captain. He had fluffy brown hair, and brown eyes and looked to be maybe 2 years younger than he was.

"I am Harata Ichirou." Harata was a smaller man, but with a rather muscular build and amber-brown eyes. Itachi recalled from his file that he was in his mid 20's.

"Kenji Masaru." His face was slightly feminine looking, with slicked back, black hair.

"I am Sokkenai Hitori. It's good to meet you, Commander Uchiha." She gave him a small smile which took him off guard, but he didn't let it show. He had already seen her face before and remembered abruptly that she was the girl who had smiled at him at the laundromat and the same girl from the emergency room.

"It's good to meet you all and thank you for coming to see me. I look forward to working with you." He turned to Hitori who looked like she was holding the mission report. "Is this for me?"

The others bowed and left as she handed him the reports and lingered for a moment. He decided to prompt her to see why she was hanging back.

"Is there something you needed, Sokkenai?" His voice was as soft and polite as usual.

"Uh, sort of. I've only been in ANBU for the last few months and I'm not quite used to writing medical reports like this. If you have any problems or if there is anything I can improve upon, I would appreciate it if you let me know." She gave him a slightly awkward smile, but didn't hesitate making eye contact with him. It surprised him as she was the first to do so from everyone in ANBU that he had met so far. Even the ANBU veterans hadn't been brave enough to look him in the eye like that.

"Of course. Medical reports are important and I am glad to hear that you wish to improve them if you can." He replied evenly and she nodded in affirmation.

"One more thing." She looked at the floor and had a silent moment while she thought of what to say. "I just wanted to say that I am glad that you've been given this position… I am happy to know that I am working under such a loyal and honourable shinobi."

Finally, she looked back up at him and her smile was much more natural this time. For a moment he lost his train of thought at the sight. She had a contagious smile, even by his standards and he had to admit that he was actually flattered by her words. It gave him the feeling that he had made the right choice by accepting the job and wondered whether anyone else in ANBU felt the same way.

"Thank you. Your words are well received. I'm glad to hear that at least one person aside from the Hokage and Kakashi is pleased about me being Commander." He replied after he finally snapped out of it.

"Ah, Kakashi just wants to avoid the extra work. And I'm sure it's not just me," she said with a soft chuckle and bowed her head. "I'll let you get back to work."

Sokkenai Hitori headed out of his office but although she was gone, her kind words were etched into Itachi's mind like a tattoo…


	7. Paperwork

**Chapter 7 - Paperwork**

Itachi was head first in a massive pile of mission reports that had just come in today and yesterday. There was at least 10 more for him to go through and a few of them required more attention than normal but he was having a few issues. The medic's reports in them had some jargon and explanations he didn't quite understand. He was fairly certain that from the context he had figured it out, but still wasn't 100 percent sure. As intelligent as he was, he still only had a basic understanding of medical ninjutsu, and it was mostly due to lack of exposure over the years that his knowledge hadn't increased. In the last month since he had taken on the job, he had learnt a few things, but he was still uncertain about some procedures. Judging from how much the hospital had changed, things were very different.

Conveniently enough, Hitori walked in just a few minutes into him frowning faintly at one report and she bowed respectfully. He raised his head to look at her and she handed her mission report to him. It was her medic report for her last mission which she had arrived back from in the early hours of this morning.

"Thank you, Sokkenai." He was the first to break the silence and gave her a nod.

She bowed and spun on one foot to head back out, but he decided to suck up his pride and ask for her help. He knew that he was only going to need it later if he didn't, or ask someone else. If he wanted to ask the Hokage or Sakura, he would have to make an appointment and he didn't want to wait that long. There wasn't exactly any other medics he knew well enough to ask for that favour. Luckily, he was familiar with Hitori and he felt comfortable enough to admit his shortcomings to her. So far, she was the only person in ANBU who was genuinely friendly to him. Of course, she was professional, but so was everyone else. She was just nice enough to ask him if he needed anything or how his day was and he enjoyed that. When he had summoned her to inform her that she would be going on the mission she just handed in her report for, she had been nice enough to wish him a good weekend before she left. Surprising, but pleasant anyway.

"Before you go...would you be able to assist me briefly?" His voice was even, as always, as he tried to hide his slight hesitation.

"Of course. What may I assist you with, Commander?" She spun back the way she came and walked back over to his desk.

"There are a few pieces of medical terminology that I am not familiar with. I was hoping you could make sure I am interpreting correctly." He moved his chair aside and signalled for her to step around the other side of the desk.

After staring blankly for a moment, she did as he asked and stood next to him, hands still linked behind her back. He pointed out two things on the report he was currently tackling and she read through and explained them as best she could so he would understand easily. She didn't oversimplify it, obviously giving him enough credit to understand due to his intelligence, which he appreciated. He nodded and checked off those sections before she went to leave him to the rest.

"Lastly, the correct treatment for a collapsed lung is for a tube to be inserted to inflate it?" He asked her even though he was almost certain he was right.

"That's correct." She nodded once in affirmation and he signed off the report.

He looked up after he placed it upon his stack of completed mission reports that would get filed later. She was watching him rather intently and answered his silent question a moment later.

"Is there anything else you'd like some help with, Commander?" Her voice was polite and professional, but he felt a friendly undertone to it.

Hitori's innocent expression suggested that she was genuinely happy to help him if he needed it, and she waited until he answered. He huffed silently and shook his head almost imperceptibly before he finally replied.

"I'm sure you have other things to do, Sokkenai. Sakura mentioned you were helping with the study of the Swamp poisons." He allowed his tone to become more friendly.

"It's her day off today so I'll help her tomorrow." She finally relaxed a little and tilted her head to the side as if she was repeating her question. Her eyes held a hint of confusion but he brushed it aside.

He  _almost_ smiled at her.

"Your assistance would be greatly appreciated. The Hokage obviously had no problems understanding the medical reports, however, I have no such advantage. Most of it I have figured out through context or research but it is taking up too much time for me to do so."

Itachi stood up, feeling Hitori's eyes upon him as he walked around, grabbed the chair on the opposite side of his desk and pulled it next to his own. He gestured for her to sit and got a little amusement from the abrupt bewilderment in her eyes before she sat down with an awkward thud. He grabbed a file from next to him once he sat in his own chair and passed it across to her. She opened it and read through it before she gave him an explanation.

"It seems that the poison created a block on the chakra flow. The hardest thing to do in the field is to get it going again without the machines we use in the hospital. We use a bleeding method, but in the field we have to try to force our own chakra through the blockages. It's hard to do and never fully successful. Most of the time the patient can get maybe up to half of their normal flow." She explained and he nodded along, taking in the information as best he could. He was aware of the in field method but not sure how the hospital method worked.

"How is it done in the hospital here? You mentioned machines?" He asked and she was continuing to relax more, being comfortable talking about medical procedures with him.

"We basically suck their chakra out with a machine, and force it back in as fast as possible once they are almost emptied out. It's success rate is much higher. Sometimes it has to be done more than once, depending on the severity but I don't think we've had a failed operation here in awhile. Not since the technology has improved." She smiled at him after she finished speaking.

"Thank you. I have a few more here that I just need clarification on, if you don't mind." Itachi barely hesitated but her eyes narrowed just enough for him to know that she noticed.

"Of course. Throw them at me." She had an amused glint in her eye that he certainly didn't miss.

"Something funny, Sokkenai?" He replied, knowing that he was asking a loaded question. For some reason, he just wanted to see what she would come out with.

"No, Commander." he stared at her as if to say that she could drop the formalities. "Um, just the fact that the great Uchiha Itachi needs  _my_  help. Never thought I would see the day." Hitori purposely kept her voice even, but he was much too perceptive to miss the tension in her jaw to stop herself from laughing.

"No need to tease, Sokkenai." He replied with a hint of a smile on his face and she chuckled softly. He was somewhat surprised at how comfortable he felt having such banter with her. Her friendly nature made it quite easy, but he got the feeling she wasn't always like this.

"Tease you, Commander? I wouldn't dream of it." She averted her gaze toward the paperwork in front of her and pretended to busy herself with it to stop herself from laughing.

Itachi didn't bother retorting and simply shook his head at her and pulled out the others he wanted her to check over. For the next two hours or so, he learnt a lot about medical ninjutsu. She explained everything as best she could and had the patience to happily answer his multitude of questions and help him understand some of the procedures. Most of it was simple enough to wrap his head around, but the level of skill and control required for medics was certainly impressive. Even though Hitori was only good at dealing with severe wounds and trauma, her abilities suited her position well. If she trained hard enough and developed her proficiency, she may even become Head Medic of ANBU one day.

Once they were all done, he thought that maybe he should do something to show his appreciation. That was the normal thing to do... _right?_

"Sokkenai, may I buy you lunch in thanks for your assistance today?" He asked as he straightened out the files before placing them in the complete stack on his right.

When she didn't reply, he turned to look at her and saw that her eyes were wide as saucers. If they weren't attached, they would have fallen out of her head by this stage. She had made a conscious effort to keep her mouth closed but she hadn't seemed to be able to keep her eyes normal simultaneously.

"I'm sorry, what?" She asked after a moment, blinking quickly.

"I asked if I may buy you lunch to thank you for helping me." He repeated himself and couldn't keep the amused lilt from his voice.

"Uh...s-sure." He stared briefly until she explained why she was so surprised. "Sorry, I...I don't have many friends, so I'm really not used to anyone except them asking me to eat with them. Truth is, I'm not an overly social person."

"If you are uncomfortable -" Itachi suggested but she cut him off, waving her hands in denial.

"No, no. I'm just...not used to it. But I'm appreciative nonetheless." she smiled reassuringly and he finally nodded.

Hitori awkwardly stood up as he did and she followed him out of HQ until they came to the area of the village that had the most restaurants and food stalls. She had been shuffling her feet and had stayed two steps behind him the entire walk but now he slowed down enough so that she was forced to walk next to him. He was almost a foot taller than her, but she was walking behind him on purpose, probably just because he was her superior. Now it seemed like she was being closer to her true self. Her friendliness didn't seem completely forced; it was probably only something he would notice.

"Choose whatever you like." He offered and pulled one of his hands from his pockets to gesture to the many places around them.

"Uh...how about…" she spun on her heels to look around and chewed her bottom lip as she tried to chose. Her bewildered expression still hadn't faded much either. "That tea shop has nice sandwiches...and good tea."

Itachi knew that she was choosing with him in mind as well, but he gathered that she would also enjoy it so he didn't call her out on it. He nodded in agreement and they headed inside and sat down at a square table near the door. One of the waitresses came over with two menus and offered to get them some drinks to start.

"Could I please get a pot of the green mountain tea?" Hitori asked, and Itachi was glad to see that she was regular enough to know straight away.

"I'll get the same, please." He asked for a lack of knowing anything else and she gave him a funny look.

"Have you been here before?" She whispered to him with a furrowed brow.

"No."

"Then how do you know that you'll like the tea you ordered?" She looked at him like he had grown another head and he resisted the urge to huff at her.

"You and I seem to share a similar standard in tea. I think it will be fine." He answered nonchalantly and half shrugged at her. He was referring to a moment they shared in the HQ kitchen where they both turned their nose up at the cheap tea bags they had available.

The waitress returned a moment later with their tea on a tray and she unloaded it before giving asking them if they would like to order any food. Hitori asked for a ham sandwich and Itachi asked for the chicken sandwich. The waitress nodded and disappeared again to keep looking after her other tables.

"May I ask, are you still living at HQ?" Hitori asked out of the blue as she poured her tea into her colourful cup.

"I am. Why do you ask?" He was doing the same thing she was, and inhaled through his nose to smell the tea. It seemed Hitori definitely had good taste in tea.

"Hmm…" she glanced off to her left and her gaze turned inward as she was lost in thought. Suddenly she nodded. "I'll see what I can do."

"What do you mean?" Even he couldn't stop the confusion from appearing on his face.

"There is an apartment across from mine that's just been vacated. The shinobi died in action so there isn't anyone in there. It's not too big or expensive and it's only a block away from HQ." She didn't look at him while she spoke, she was too busy tracing pattern on her cup with her finger.

"I'm sure I can find somewhere shortly." Itachi sipped his hot beverage, pleased to know that it was a good choice.

"It's fine. Just come and see the landlady when we're done. I can't make any promises anyway. She might already have someone moving in." Hitori shrugged but gave him a half smile anyway and he nodded in agreement. "It's not a huge place, and it doesn't have it's own laundry facilities, but it's close to everything, and not overly expensive. The apartments are big enough for one person to live in comfortably."

The timing was perfect as the waitress returned with their sandwiches and they ate heartily. Itachi was impressed with the freshness and quality; he decided that he would be happy to come back here again. He had been cooking all of his own meals so far, but they hadn't exactly been anything decadent since he had been using the kitchen in HQ. So this meal was a nice change from the ordinary.

Once they were finished, he went to pay the bill, despite Hitori protesting and attempting to at least cover half of it. He simply gave her a stern look and she pouted and leant back in her seat, crossing her arms over her chest in a huff. He certainly used his title to his advantage to win that battle. By the time he returned from the counter, she had relaxed a little and stood up to walk with him.

Hitori lead the way to her apartment building, as Itachi memorised the way with his Sharingan on. When they got there, she knocked on the first floor apartment on the left. A middle aged woman opened the door with a no nonsense look on her rather round face. She had short, ringlet curled black hair, dark eyes and eyebrows that were clearly drawn on and made her look like she was permanently surprised.

"Hitori. What is it?" The woman asked in a clipped tone and Hitori didn't seem bothered by it.

"I've got someone who wants to rent the apartment across from mine." She pointed towards Itachi who was standing on her left. Hitori's tone had completely changed to match the older womans' and he gathered that she was used to this treatment.

He bowed his head politely and the older woman didn't return the gesture. Instead she looked him up and down, giving him a good once over to see if he was going to be a good tenant. After a moment before he could introduce himself, she finally spoke.

"Who the hell is he?" She asked Hitori who made a shocked noise.

"Mizuho! This is the ANBU Commander, Uchiha Itachi. Be more respectful! Tsk!" Hitori rolled her eyes and the landlady didn't seem to be bothered by her abrasive outburst.

"Ahh… ANBU Commander, hey? Well, at least I don't have to worry about you not being able to afford the rent." The landlady smirked and took a slow breath in and out whilst staring at him intently before she nodded. "Rightio. He can have the room."

"He'll move in right away." Hitori answered for him and he glanced at her for a moment while the landlady disappeared into her apartment. She didn't look back at him so he waited silently.

"Here are the forms you need to sign. They have all the information on them. Bring them back and I'll give you the key. Your deposit is one months rent up front and rent is due on Mondays. Don't be late, or you'll regret it." She handed him the forms, her voice not changing to anything nicer since they arrived. If anything, she sounded meaner.

"Thank you kindly." Itachi bowed his head and took the paperwork from her. He was surprised it was this easy, but maybe his title of Commander held more weight than he initially realised.

"See ya." Mizuho shut the door and Hitori smiled at him.

"Well, that was easy. And now you have your own place." Hitori turned to face him and shifted her weight from her toes to her heels.

"Thank you for your help. It seems I am in your debt once more, Sokkenai." He gave her a shadow of a smile and nodded appreciatively.

"Meh, you bought lunch." she waved at him, trying to tell him not to worry.

"I think that lunch doesn't really cover it. You've given me a place to live." he smirked faintly and raised an eyebrow.

"Okay. You can pay me back by not calling me by my last name. Seriously. No one else does. It's weird." she shrugged and shook her head.

"Would you call me by my first name if I asked you to?" He asked her in reply and enjoyed her dramatic groan.

"You are my superior. It's different!" Her tone was amused, but exasperated, knowing that she wasn't going to win this one.

"And if I ordered you to?" He knew this would get a reaction out of her.

Just as he expected, she groaned again and threw her hands up in the air, rolling her eyes as well. Mentally, he allowed himself to have a chuckle. She was so dramatic and it was quite funny. Her abrasive outbursts seemed to be a fairly normal thing once she became comfortable.

"I suppose I'd have to!" she chuckled softly, "I'm going up. Thank you for lunch." she bowed quickly and spun towards the stairs on one foot.

Waving at him over her shoulder, she headed up the stairs, walking up them lazily with her hands in her pockets as she mumbled to herself. He shook his head at her antics and headed back towards HQ. Once he had gathered his deposit money and filled in the forms, he would come back and get the key to his new place. Tsunade had offered to assist him by paying for a deposit on an apartment which would be helpful as well. He had been paid well so far and he only had to buy necessities such as clothes and toiletries with his paychecks. Although now that he had got most of what he needed, he wouldn't need to spend much more on those things.

It was a strange feeling having a new home in his village. He hadn't been entirely sure if he wanted one yet, since the Uchiha compound had been the only place he had lived in before. But he supposed that he should start to settle in more. It had already been 4 months since he got back. After living in the cell at HQ and the hospital for almost a month while he was being cleared, he had been sleeping in the small cot beds since he didn't have anywhere else to go. Normally they were only used if the ANBU members were simply too exhausted to go back to their own place after a mission, or if they were waiting for orders.

As he headed back to his office and sat down, beginning to fill in the paperwork, he decided that this was a good thing. He would sleep better and have access to his own bathroom and kitchen. Since he hadn't spent any money he had made since his return, except for a few clothes, weapons and other necessities, he would have no problems furnishing his new place.

Now he was starting to feel like he was truly part of the village once more.

He was alive again…


	8. Concern

**Chapter 8 - Concern**

It was late in the evening and Itachi heard the abrupt noise of a thud, a clink, and someone swearing from outside his apartment. It seemed to be a female's voice he could hear, and he assumed it was Hitori. He had been living in the apartment across from her for the most part of three weeks now, and she had been away on a mission for most of that time. She was right when she had said that it was just right for one person. The apartment was less than a quarter of the size compared to the house he lived in as a child in the Uchiha Compound.

As he stood up from his seat and opened his apartment door, he saw Hitori in her doorway, and a splatter of blood on the floor as she unsealed the chakra lock on the door to let herself in. From the way her shoulders slouched and her feet scuffed the floor, he guessed that she was either injured or exhausted but the blood suggested injury. It may not have been her own though.

"Sokkenai. Are you hurt?" He asked her quietly and she slowly shuffled her feet to turn and look at him.

Her face was pale and haggard from exhaustion but it was the way she looked like she was struggling to breath that worried him. He felt his dojutsu activate naturally and he watched her every movement to analyse what was wrong with her, or if she was just exhausted. She was hunching over slightly, and had a hand over the left side of her ribcage. Immediately, he suspected that she had broken her ribs, and sighed mentally at her stubbornness.

"I'm fine. Sorry if I disturbed you." She bowed her head respectfully and went to turn away but he spoke first.

"Why are you not at the hospital if you are injured?" His voice became deeper and firmer, signalling that he was speaking to her as her Commander.

"I am a medic, Commander. I am perfectly capable of healing myself. The wounds are superficial." She explained and took careful, shallow breaths intermittently, which she couldn't hide from his sharp eyes.

"Must I order you to go and get treated?" He said with a hint of exasperation. She sighed, knowing that she was busted.

"It's only cracked ribs and a few scratches. I would prefer to heal myself in my own home rather than give the medics at the hospital extra work. Kisuke's cell just returned knocking on death's door. They are busy enough already." She began to get short with him, but despite that being a bad idea to do with her superior, he actually found it somewhat amusing.

"Then as your Commander, I will ensure that you treat yourself before you rest."

He practically marched over to her door and ushered her inside. She made her way in slowly and he could swear that she was rolling her eyes at him, even though she had her back to him. He closed her door softly and walked over to her after she sat down at her small dining table with a pained wince. She stripped off her vest with a grimace and unclipped her weapon holsters before she pushed her shoes off with her opposite foot.

Hitori closed her eyes, took a deep breath and sat back to begin healing herself as Itachi stood authoritatively nearby and supervised. As she healed her wounds, he looked her over to check just how badly she was injured. Most of it seemed superficial as she said, just a bruise or graze, but there was a few deep cuts and one on her thigh that looked like a kunai stab wound. Her right eye was puffy, but that quickly went down with her healing herself. He noticed that she had rather long eyelashes, coupled with softly curved eyebrows.

Occasionally, she would pull a face or shuffle in her seat, but he watched as a laceration on her arm slowly shrunk and disappeared. It left a pink line behind, the only sign she had been hurt at all. The stab wound on her thigh got smaller as well, but left an angry red line in its wake. Her grazes and bruises didn't change though, as she obviously focused her healing on severe injuries. Superficial things would fade with time. No need to waste chakra on them.

Although it had been roughly five minutes by the time she finished, it didn't feel like that long. He had been watching her the entire time and only shifted when she opened her eyes, signalling she was finished. Sitting up straight, she rolled her shoulders backward a few times before she opened her eyes and stood up.

"Done." She spoke offhandedly and he nodded in confirmation.

"Your ribs?" He asked as he examined her once more.

Casually as could be, she lifted up her shirt and whacked herself with her other hand to show that she had healed the damage. The only thing left was a bluish-purple tinge to her skin. It took him by surprise, but he didn't look away, although he felt like he should have. Regardless, she had made her point. She let the material fall from her hands and walked toward her fridge, he stepped aside to let her past. After she grabbed out a container of soup, she poured its contents into a pot and turned on her stove to heat up her meal.

Abruptly she turned to him with a partially hidden frown on her face. It seemed she really had no patience for him today.

"Is there anything else I can do for you, Commander?" Although she was speaking politely, her body language betrayed her.

"Are you alright?" He softened his voice as best he could.

His question seemed to surprise her and her frown dissipated instantly. He could see the cogs turning in her head and she dropped her shoulders and sighed. Shaking her head, it looked like she realised what she was doing.

"I apologise. I am merely frustrated at how our mission went. My abilities as a medic should not have to stretch to those who make idiotic decisions that put the cell in danger." With her thumb and pointer finger, she rubbed the bridge of her nose.

"Is that why you were unable to heal your wounds earlier?"

"Yes. I had to focus on getting the rest of the cell well enough to keep moving. I knew I could look after myself once we were home safe. My bleeding had stopped and I had no mortal wounds to be concerned with."

He nodded slowly and she stumbled over her words for a moment as she figured out what she wanted to say. She chewed her lip in uncertainty before she bowed and finally spoke.

"I am sorry I was so brusque. You are my Commander and-"

"There is no need." He cut her off but she did not rise. "I am more than aware your anger was not directed at me." He moved to lean against her counter and crossed his arms over his chest.

"I must still pay obeisance and apologise for my rudeness."

Itachi stayed quiet until she straightened up and he couldn't help but huff faintly at her expression. She seemed exhausted in more ways than one, but was still concerned about how she had spoken to him. This break in his composure made her relax and she looked to one side and smiled.

"I assure you that you did not upset me." He allowed a teasing hint to appear in his voice and she relaxed enough to laugh softly. Instinctively, he felt the corners of his mouth turn upward at the sight and he decided to leave her be to eat and rest. "Get some rest, Sokkenai."

Itachi pushed away from the counter and she smiled at him once more before he left to her to her own devices. He pulled her door shut and felt her chakra flare for a brief second as she sealed it behind him. After he went back to his own apartment, he returned to his files and his cold tea.

The shadow of a smile on his face did not fade until much later…

* * *

Hitori had been summoned to HQ after having two weeks leave after her last mission. She was bored out of her mind and hoped that Commander Uchiha had something for her to do. Since he had seen her while she was injured, he had forced her to stay at home and told her that if he saw her at HQ during that time, she would have to wait longer to get assigned to a mission. There was no way that she would be able to sneak in there without him finding out, so she had spent most of the time off reading her book, and she had gotten to train with both Haruko and Sakura once each, which was good.

She bowed before she entered the Commander's office and put on her professional expression. Since they had become neighbours, Itachi had become much more friendly with her when he saw her, even going so far to tease and joke with her, which surprised her. But she was glad that he was comfortable enough to be like that with her. He made for pleasant company and let her ramble on about whatever she wanted to while he listened silently. She had helped him with the medical reports a couple more times, but he had actually brought them to her apartment, since she hadn't been allowed in HQ for the last fortnight.

"Sokkenai. Come in." his voice was firm and serious, which was normal for the times when it was strictly business between them. "I have a mission for you. It's not going to be easy, but I believe you'll be a good choice for the medic in the cell."

"Thank you for trusting in my abilities." she nodded in appreciation, glad to know that she must be improving if he was assigning her to something more difficult. Regardless, if Uchiha Itachi said it was difficult, then she might have her work cut out for her.

"This is A-ranked, but I expect if you follow the plan I have set out, you'll have minimal issues. Your Captain has the details, and you leave first thing tomorrow morning."

"Thank you." she bowed once more, and went to turn away, but his voice stopped her.

"Don't be so nervous." he looked at her with a raised eyebrow, clearly able to see through her facade. "You'll do well."

He gave her the faintest hint of a smile, and she couldn't help but feel a little more confident. She took a breath and nodded a few times before she gave him a smile and bowed again and left his office. If he had faith in her, surely she couldn't manage to stuff everything up too badly...right?

* * *

Their four man cell had set off at sunrise this morning and they were heading for the southern part of the Hot Water Country that was north of Fire Country. It was only small, but it did hold its own hidden village. Their team consisted of the Captain, whose name Hitori didn't know and hadn't worked with previously, Kisuke, who she had met but not worked with before, and Ryuka, who she had worked with a few times before.

On the way, the Captain explained that they were going to assassinate a cult leader who had gone mad with power and began to abuse his followers and physically harm them. He had also been ordering his followers to steal food and supplies from nearby villages. They were to kill the leader and take out any others that threatened them completing their mission. He told them about the mission plan the Commander had given them and broke down what their role was.

Ryuka's doton jutsu would be good for breaking into the compound that they were living in, and she would be followed by Kisuke and the Captain while Hitori stayed back to provide any long ranged support she could and be ready to heal and help them fight their way out when they killed their mark. The reports said that the majority of his followers wanted out now that he had started on his power trip, and just needed an out, so they wouldn't put up a fight. Some of them still believed in the cause though, and would make things difficult.

They travelled into the night, and stopped to rest just after midnight until sunrise before they set off again, only a few hours shy from their target. They kept up the pace and reached the large compound just before midday. It had been abandoned during the Fourth Shinobi World War, along with a lot of other villages in the country and had been a big part of the battlefield. As a result, the country was still recovering from the fighting that occurred here. It's people and economy had been slowly stabilising since.

Stopping so that they could both analyse and finalise their plan, they were a few hundred metres from the compound and they tested out their comms before they were ready to go in. They took a breath simultaneously, and headed for their target, Ryuka in the lead ready to smash the doors in with doton jutsu. Kisuke was close behind, ready to back her up along with their Captain after she blasted through.

Hitori stayed back and tried to use her jutsu to peek inside, but she was still too far away. Her range was a big weakness at the moment, and she definitely needed to work on it before she stepped up for jonin. When they were only a hundred metres away, she finally looked inside and found the place wasn't guarded by the followers, but there was armed shinobi instead. She hissed at the other three through her wireless radio to let them know, but they didn't slow their pace at all as the Captain told them to push forward. From where she was, she could see at least 20, but there might have been more further in the compound.

She had a bad feeling gurgling in her stomach, and readied herself for a real shit fight while cursing under her breath, and even more colourfully in her mind.

After Ryuka barged in, from a distance Hitori tried to disable as many of the hired guards as she could without rushing in like she was ordered to. Taking Genma's advice into account, she knew that she couldn't overstep with this Captain; he was far too stern. Kisuke and the Captain disappeared in the fray and Hitori concentrated on their chakra as best she could whilst trying to help, making sure that she would know if any of them got seriously injured. Charging a handful of kunai with raiton chakra, she began tossing them at anyone who came within range of her, only landing about two thirds of them. Unfortunately, they didn't all disable or kill their targets, some of them only grazing or giving decent slashes.

On closer inspection, the guards seemed to be rogue shinobi, meaning that they had minimal use of their chakra and probably didn't know much jutsu at all. They would have received a small amount of training, but not enough to make them fully lethal against hidden village trained shinobi. However, their numbers were the biggest issue they were facing. Ryuka, Kisuke and the Captain were yelling at each other through their radio, and Hitori continued to tell the Captain to let her get closer to help. Their mark having hired help wasn't in their original plan, so she argued that they should be able to ditch it to come in and assist. They were only expecting a few fanatic civilians to try and stop them, not a force of rogue nin.

From her perch in a tree, Hitori saw a strangely coloured cloud forming on Kisuke's right, and moved to a different spot to see if someone was creating it, or if it was an after effect of a jutsu. Her eyes went wide as she realised it was an enemy creating a poison cloud, and decided that disobeying orders or not, they might not survive if she didn't get in there now. If the poison was lethal enough, seconds were going to be the difference between the four of them dying or getting through this.

Leaping down from her spot, she ran in at full speed and when she was about halfway, the enemy released the poison cloud, hitting Kisuke first, then Ryuka and the Captain shortly after. The three of them continued fighting at full efficiency and would be able to keep going for a few minutes, which is all they needed to finish this. Hitori ran straight through the worst of the fray and headed for the back of the compound, as she could now peek ahead to see that was where their mark was.

The two guards at his door posed little threat and she left one of them gurgling with his throat slit, bleeding out on the stairs, and the second was clutching his stomach were she had sliced him deeply with her ninjato. Kicking the door in with minimal effort, she saw a horrible sight. The man they were supposed to kill had three girls tied up on his bed, all completely naked. The poor girls began screeching loudly for help as soon as they saw her. He was sitting on her left in an armchair, apparently waiting for her.

"If you kill me, the group of well paid bounty hunters watching this compound will come after you and kill you. If you let me be, they will not chase you." his voice was as narcissistic as she expected it to sound, and he stood up and began to walk over to her.

She left no delay in closing the gap between them and crouched down, then drove her ninjato between his ribs on an angle upward into his chest cavity where his heart was. He was dead within seconds, and she reefed the blade back out of him and the girls screamed. She swung the blade through the air, ridding it of any excess blood before she placed it back in its sheath. Although she wanted to take her mask off to ease the girls fears, she couldn't risk it.

"I am here to help you. May I come over to you and release your bonds?" she spoke evenly, and softened her voice as must as she could to try and calm them.

The one in the middle nodded slowly, and she rushed over and untied them, and checked them over for severe wounds. They were mostly unharmed aside from some cuts and bruises from being beaten by him, but they would heal in time. No need to waste her chakra on them when she had three cell members that would be dying from poison shortly. They explained that they had been kidnapped from the local villages as she checked them out. Hitori sent them on their way after they grabbed their clothes from the floor and haphazardly threw them on. Hitori didn't waste any more time focusing on them, as her comrades seemed to have stopped fighting, by the feel of their chakra. She couldn't sense anyone else that was alive, or well enough to fight around them and knew that she needed to get back and start breaking down the poison in their system. They ran into the room and saw that she had already completed the job, and she could feel that Kisuke was beginning to feel the poison's effects judging by his chakra.

Their Captain began to rummage around, to see if there was any evidence of any illegal activity that they needed to put a stop to. Ryuka helped while Hitori began metabolising the poison in Kisuke's body. It was a tough poison, but luckily it was slow acting, so she had time to stop any permanent damage from occurring. She waited, still healing as best she could until she had enough of waiting for the other two.

"We need to get behind Fire Country borders. I can't heal all three of you when you've all been so badly poisoned. We won't all make it home." she spoke in a low voice, directing her words at their Captain, who seemed not to care. "If we get behind our borders, I can send word and get us picked up."

Still, he continued his task, even though Ryuka had stopped, and Hitori could feel that she was beginning to get faint. Gesturing her to come over, Hitori changed to healing her, since this was the most critical time in dealing with poisons. If she was able to break down the majority of it, or at least the active ingredients, then it wouldn't affect them anywhere near as much and would be taken out of their system when they got back to Konoha.

"Captain!" Hitori shouted angrily, and he finally stopped to look at her.

"You've already disobeyed orders today, Yami. Do not press me further." his voice was much deeper than hers, but she didn't care about pissing him off or being reprimanded for her actions. She was trying to get them all home alive.

"I will fucking press you if it gets us all home alive! I will not let my teammates die for your arrogance!" she held nothing back, and kept up healing Ryuka as best she could. Her aggressiveness even surprised her, but she didn't care if it meant they would leave.

"Fine. Let's move out." he replied after a quiet moment that dragged on for too long.

As they headed back towards the Fire Country border, she swapped between them, breaking down the poison from within their body as best she could on the run. Her chakra was running low just after they crossed the border, and their pace had slowed significantly. All three of them had already began to feel the effects of the poison, and they had already had some blood seeping out from their noses and ears. If she didn't keep up healing them, it would cause them to hemorrhage and die slowly. She gave them all an injection that was an antidote for most poisons with the hemorrhaging effect, and hoped that it had the same lethal ingredient, which would buy her more time. However the antidote wasn't completely correct, although it did ease her workload somewhat.

Not to mention the bounty hunters they had sensed on their tail. She just hoped that they wouldn't cross the border, but she felt a prickle on the edge of her senses and knew they weren't alone.

Kisuke went down first, and the Captain attempted to hoist him onto his back, but was much too weak himself and the two of them fell in a heap on the ground. Ryuka was barely able to stand, and Hitori was doing much better, since she had only come across a much smaller portion of the poison, but she was just as exhausted from healing the three of them.

Ryuka found a small clearing that was naturally hidden by a rock cluster, and the three of them collapsed while Hitori did her best switching between them to heal them. She grabbed out her storage scroll, and gave them a soldier pill each, which would help to at least keep them going for a while longer to stop them from passing out too early. When they kicked in, she took the chance to quickly send a message to Konoha, and hoped that it would get there before her comrades began to die one by one.

Kisuke went unconscious around half an hour later, being in the worst shape and Ryuka managed to stay awake for another ten minutes after that. As much as she hated him right now, she was still concerned when their Captain passed out another ten minutes later. She gave them another dosage of the same antidote, but now she had none left for herself. Fortunately, she needed much less chakra for her own upkeep and she would need to keep some of the poison active in her system for the medics in Konoha to analyse. She wouldn't be hemorrhaging to a point of mortality either.

Through the rest of the day, she nursed them as best she could, cursing under her breath every few hours when they had barely improved. She just didn't have the chakra to heal all three of them when they had been injured as well as poisoned. Her medical ninjutsu was passable, but even the most seasoned medic would struggle with the severity of this situation.

Once the sun went down, the skirmishes began. They approached her one by one, every hour or so, testing to see how tired she was. Luckily, they weren't too skilled, but she had a feeling that they would send their stronger members once she couldn't fend them off any more. By the time sunrise was almost upon her, she had created a little pile of dead bounty hunters around her.

Another approached and she felt them try and charge from behind, but it left them very much open. They blocked her initial sword strike, but although they were much bigger than her, her agility and technique was far superior, and she felt blood splatter upon her when she cut him diagonally from shoulder to hip, his ribs exposed from the depth of the wound. Landing with a heavy thud, she grabbed a syringe filled with adrenalin from her cloak and jabbed herself with it.

This was going to be bad later on, but if she didn't use something to keep her going, she was going to end up passing out from exhaustion. She had given the others most of the supplies, since they were in more dire straits than she was. She just had to contend with staying awake, staying alive and not using her chakra as much as she could in these little fights.

She just hoped that a rescue team would arrive before they got the best of her...


	9. To Save You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the delay! I'm on my 10th day of work in a row!  
> I hope you enjoy the chapter :D

**Chapter 9 - To Save You**

It had been a full day since she sent word to Konoha of her precarious situation. It would take at least half a day to arrive, but she wasn't expecting anyone to arrive for at least another few hours. She felt the prickles of chakra on the edge of her senses, and waited cautiously to see if it was one of her allies coming to help her. She didn't even breathe as they got closer at an alarming rate, and she began to worry if it was just a shinobi passing through the area and not someone there to help her. If they were just on patrol, they wouldn't be able to do anything for her since medics didn't patrol, and she would have to stay here until someone arrived.

Unfortunately, it wasn't a familiar chakra and she readied herself to fight again. It seemed since they had tracked her down, they were just trying to wear her out, sending someone occasionally to see if she was tired enough to take down yet. They had found out the hard way that she was still capable of defending herself. She wasn't even using chakra to dispatch them and no longer had the strength to wield her ninjato. They zipped into sight from the trees and headed straight for her, sword drawn. The steel glinted maliciously as she took a defensive stance.

A few more chakra signatures appeared and there was two that she finally recognised one, which belonged to Haruko. She knew that it was the group coming to get her, and she flared her chakra out as best she could, depleted as it was. Someone flew ahead of the group, but she couldn't place who it was. She recognised their chakra signature, but just couldn't figure out who it belonged to. It was such a strong signature with intensity that surprised her.

She finally began to get the upper hand in the brief skirmish and dodged a wide arc from her opponent's sword, and spun on the spot and feeling her kunai slice through the soft flesh of his throat. He gurgled and dropped his sword just as the first shinobi in the rescue group appeared from the brush. The enemy hunter fell heavily, arterial blood seeping into the ground beneath him and she sighed exhaustedly and looked to her ally.

It was a tall male, with a slim, but strongly built figure. A long black ponytail appeared from the back of his weasel mask as he turned behind him to watch his companions arrive and her jaw dropped behind her own mask.

"Commander Uchiha?" she watched his head turn towards her and saw his Sharingan eyes and she stared directly into them without fear.

A heavy breath escaped her and she was so relieved that help had finally arrived. She felt his red and black eyes on her as her head dropped and her shoulders slumped in exhaustion. He walked over and checked that all three of her squad members were still alive, and they were, obviously due to her abilities and training. She would be surprised if they all made it home alive though, herself included.

"You said they were poisoned?" he spoke just loud enough for her to hear.

"Mmm. I managed to neutralise the worst of the poison's effects, but after treating all three of them and fighting, I didn't have enough chakra to treat the damage it had already done. Instead, I treated myself as best I could so that I could guard them until someone came. The bounty hunters haven't given up yet. We didn't get far enough inside our borders to deter them." although she spoke confidently, internally she was concerned that she might have done the wrong thing. Maybe she should have exhausted herself to treat at least two of her squad, and they could have carried the third and her back to Konoha. "I just hope I did the right thing," she blurted out quietly, but he still heard it.

He stared at her for a moment, and she made eye contact with him for a long moment before he looked her over, checking her for injuries. Although her injuries were minimal, it was her exhaustion that was doing the most damage. Her chakra was severely depleted and she had no more soldier pills left, and hadn't been able to sleep for 2 days now. She knew that he would be all too aware of her situation, and when the other three people, Haruko included reached them, he quickly ordered them to grab one of their comrades and head straight back to Konoha. They had two fresh medics with them, who would work on her cell members while they travelled.

"Head straight to the hospital. I will make all necessary reports." his soft, deep voice commanded respect and obeisance.

They nodded simultaneously and leapt away into the trees, each of them piggybacking one of her squadmates. Hitori sighed silently in relief, but Itachi seemed to notice and watched her for a moment.

"You made the right decision. I would have done the same thing in your position." his words surprised her, and she stared back speechlessly for a few seconds, before she managed an appreciative nod.

She still had her doubts, but his subtle praise erased the vast majority of them. She supposed that his legendary track record was enough to back him up, let alone his brilliant mind, which was more than likely the only reason that he was still alive after everything he had been through. Despite her best intentions, she would still get in trouble later for disobeying orders. Reprimands be damned, so long as they all survived the trip home.

He gestured for her to fall into step with him, and they took off at a reasonable pace, and Hitori suspected that he was taking it easy on her behalf. Regardless of her exhaustion, getting home faster would make her feel much better and she pushed harder. He kept up with no worries, and she knew that he would probably be able to go twice as fast as she could without breaking a sweat and she smirked under her mask. Even just being in proximity to such an prodigious shinobi was unreal.

Just by observing, she wasn't surprised that he could not only survive years in the Akatsuki, as being among their ranks was legendary in itself. She also knew that he was promoted to an ANBU Captain at the mere age of 13, which was simply astounding. Her invitation to ANBU happened just after she turned 19 and at 13, she was doing D-rank missions.

He truly was a legend in human form.

Unfortunately, she had got into this mess because of her orders, and her temper was getting the better of her in her tired state. He had ordered her to stay back and only engage if she absolutely had to, like a good medic should do. However, their mark on this mission would have easily been able to be taken out through 'traditional' kunoichi methods, saving them the massive shit fight they had ended up in with his hired rogue shinobi guards. When he had given them the assignment, that was what she had immediately assumed they were required to do and why both her and Ryuka were assigned. She hadn't complained, or gotten upset. She knew that was part of being a kunoichi, and knew that she certainly wasn't above such duties. Obviously the information he had received was outdated by the time the mission was approved and they arrived at the compound. Hindsight was always clearer, so she brushed the train of thought away on that reasoning and just tried to focus on keeping up the pace.

After a few hours of silent travel, she stumbled and almost lost her footing and her Commander slowed to a stop. He hopped down until they were on the ground, and she followed him, wondering what the problem was. She hadn't sensed anything, but he might have gotten an inkling of something that she had missed.

"Rest for a few hours. We will continue once you've regained some chakra." he sat down at the base of the tree, leaning his back against its huge trunk.

He always spoke like he was making a simple request, but she knew that he wouldn't let her get away with it if she ignored him, so she walked over to a smaller tree about 3 or 4 metres from him before he tilted his head toward her. She stopped what she was doing, expecting him to speak.

"Here, please. I must keep an eye on your chakra levels." he gestured to the empty space next to him, and she was glad her mask hid her raised eyebrows. She thought she heard him huff faintly as she thumped down heavily next to him, barely able to stand any longer.

"Are you alright?" he asked her, just loud enough for her to hear him. He still had his head tilted back to lean against the tree. His knees were bent and he was resting his forearms on them, letting his hands dangle over.

It took her a moment to realise that he had actually asked that, as her first thought was that she was going mad from fatigue. His tone held a whisper of something that she couldn't quite put her finger on. It wasn't so blank and emotionless as his voice usually was, but she just didn't know what was different this time. She was far too tired to analyse it anyway.

"I feel like shit." Hitori hesitated after the fact, wondering if she should have said it so crassly, but it was too late now.

He lifted his head and turned to look at her, she stared into the holes on his mask that revealed his Sharingan eyes. She definitely heard him huff amusedly this time, and she could swear from the slight crinkle that appeared around his eyes, that he might have been smiling.

Unable to keep conscious any longer, she took a few controlled breaths and willed herself to sleep…

* * *

When she jolted awake, the sun was low in the sky. Her head was against something considerably softer than the tree trunk she had fallen asleep against. She glanced to her right and saw empty space, but when she looked to her left she saw a familiar black figure that she had apparently fallen asleep on sometime in the last few hours.

Uchiha Itachi looked down at her with amusement in his Sharingan eyes and her jaw dropped comically under her mask. She had slept on her Commander's shoulder, and he clearly hadn't woken her up to move her or told her off. She was grateful that he let her sleep, but it certainly didn't stave off her embarrassment at the situation. There was no doubt in her mind that if he didn't have the composure of a statue, he would be wetting himself laughing.

As much as she wanted to jump up and run as far away as possible out of sheer embarrassment, she knew that would only make it worse. Instead she sat up and blinked slowly, trying to pretend like she hadn't really realised yet. He probably saw through her facade, but she kept it up anyway.

"My apologies for sleeping so long, Commander. You should have woken me." She stood up slowly, feeling the aches in her body began to set in. The shot of adrenaline would make her feel shit for the next few days and it was already setting in.

Luckily, she had regenerated enough chakra to pick up the pace a little on the way home. She was glad for it, since the embarrassment running through her was enough to make her want to bury her face in her pillow and scream. The poison still in her system wasn't giving her too much trouble but the constant upkeep had drained her. Although she felt slightly nauseous, she ignored it as best she could. She felt dried blood on her ears as well as from her nose, and it was all she could smell.

"There was no need. Are you well enough to continue travelling?" He replied softly, his voice holding no clue to his thoughts.

"Uh, yes. Of course. Thank you." She dusted herself off, mostly because she was trying to avoid looking at him. Her awkwardness was well merited but she was pushing it aside in favour of getting home without a tense silence.

It surprised her how well she actually slept. The afternoon sun had helped to keep her warm, as well as someone's body heat, no doubt. With him around, she hadn't even thought about her safety being at risk. She knew that his abilities were almost mythical in their skill level and that she had nothing to worry about with him there. She wondered idly about the bounty hunters, but presumed they had given up since they had travelled much further inside the Fire Country border.

As they continued, Konoha got gradually closer and Hitori, although she had rested, became increasingly more exhausted. It had taken them at least another 6 hours of travel time to reach their hidden village, and by this time Hitori was practically dead on her feet. She was mentally whinging about Itachi looking perfectly calm and not even the slightest bit tired the entire trip back, but wasn't surprised about it.

The front gate of their village came into view and Kotetsu and Izumo were waiting for them, obviously hearing that they would be on their way from the other members of their team.

"Commander. We were starting to get worried since your team was back hours ago." Kotetsu walked over to them and nodded respectfully.

Hitori was preparing a comment about it being her fault that they took so long, but her nausea hit her harder now that she was safely inside the village gates. She coughed weakly to try and cover it up, but blood rose in her throat and it splattered on the ground beneath her. Then everything around her turned to black, and she felt the ground underneath her a second later…

* * *

Itachi hadn't been fast enough to catch her before she landed heavily on the ground just inside the gate, but he wasted no time in hoisting her into his arms and headed straight towards the hospital. It seemed like she was completely drained and exhausted, but he had to be sure that there wasn't any severe wounds, or if the poison was still affecting her. He could feel that her chakra was still very low and she wouldn't have been able to heal herself on the trip back since she needed to keep her muscles flooded with chakra just to keep going forward.

Once they made it into the village, she must have not been able to stay conscious any longer. Her body must have just given up on bothering to keep awake since she was in a safe place where she would be looked after. It was quite common to see shinobi making it to the gate and passing out, having done everything they could and expended every ounce of energy they had to make it that far. Kotetsu and Izumo were used to seeing it happen, for obvious reasons.

The front doors of the hospital were open and he headed straight in, not bothering to remove his mask. He was wearing the same weasel mask he always wore, and felt a little bit strange in it. Sakura caught his eye when he headed in and immediately came over to him, obviously being prepared for Hitori to be admitted. She led him through to the emergency section, where there was an empty bed waiting for her right next to her comrades who were unconscious but okay. Itachi carefully laid her back on the bed with Sakura's help before stepping back to let the medic do her job.

"Did the poison create any problems for the others?" he asked Sakura, referring to Hitori's teammates and she shook her head.

"No, Hitori did most of the hard work for us. She broke it down so that it wouldn't do any more damage, but she wouldn't have had the chakra to heal the damage already done for the three of them. We are just working on that and once they have rested up, they will be fine." Sakura pulled her hair back into a ponytail before she stood over the dark haired woman and began to work.

"Is she alright?" he asked, giving her a brief moment to assess her a little more fully before she answered.

"She's practically in worse shape than the other three. Signs of dehydration, malnutrition..." Sakura frowned and narrowed her eyes at her friend. "But she was keeping herself stable enough to keep going. Her exhaustion will take the longest to recover from. It feels like she was forcing herself through with adrenaline, and it's just as much of a blessing as it is a curse."

Itachi sighed silently at her unconscious form, knowing that she had obviously pushed herself far too hard. Regardless, he had to commend her for her tenacity and courage. He was all too aware of how nervous and out of place she had felt in ANBU so far, but this mission had all but proved that she was a brilliant operative. Her determination and self-sacrifice had kept her team alive.

"How long does she need to rest?" he asked as calmly as he could, knowing that he would have to get her removed from the active duty roster until she had recovered.

"Not entirely sure. The damage from the poison and general wounds will be sorted out within a week, but as I said before, her exhaustion is the worst part of her condition." Sakura's hands stopped glowing green, ceasing her chakra output before she looked over to Itachi, making eye contact with him. "I would give it three to four weeks, just to be sure."

The Uchiha nodded slowly, and thanked her before she ducked off to get a few different things for Hitori's treatment. He was trying to figure out how on earth she was suffering from dehydration and lack of nourishment when the others were out cold. They had taken plenty of supplies and rations, and he knew that Hitori had a good supply of soldier pills with her at all times in case of emergencies like the one she had.

Unless...she had given her rations and water to her teammates and let herself suffer. He sighed once again, audibly this time, when he realised that was more than likely the case. For their bodies to get rid of the poison, they would have been burning with fever and needing extra food for energy. She was loyal to a fault, just like him, and he knew that he didn't have a leg to stand on for when he would discuss the matter with her later. He knew that she had done exactly what he would have done, especially when her teammates weren't in serious enough trouble to destroy their bodies like they were supposed to if they were killed in action. Especially since they were inside Fire Country borders. She wasn't the sort of person to just let her comrades die without putting up a fight, and he admired her for that.

A small flash of pride surged through him, and although it was strange and unexpected, it wasn't unpleasant. He supposed that during his time as Commander, she had been the person he had spoken to the most. She had been the first person aside from Team Seven and the Hokage herself who actually spoke to him like a real person. Every other time he was talking to anyone, they spoke to him like he was nothing more than a machine. He supposed that in some capacity, they were right. He was a machine, who just did whatever he needed to. But Hitori didn't treat him like that.

He sighed and sat down in the small chair near the bed, and figured he would stay for a while and head home later. He had eaten just before he had received the note from her, and although he hadn't had anything since, he really didn't feel hungry at all. Making a mental note to ensure that he forced himself to eat later before he went to bed, he watched as Sakura came back into the room with a small container filled with a few bits and pieces and a stand for her IV.

Mechanically, the pink haired woman worked, green chakra flowing from her hands into Hitori's body for roughly 20 minutes. When she was done, she placed a needle into the vein on the inside of Hitori's elbow, and ensuring it flowed correctly before she moved onto the next task. Itachi continued observing silently as Sakura injected her with something, and left a few bottles of pills on her small bedside table. She picked up Hitori's chart and pulled a pen from somewhere in her hair and began making notes with lots of medical jargon on them, explaining Hitori's treatment. Itachi did see a few notes that were clearly directed at Hitori too, knowing that she would read her own chart.

"I've given her an antidote for the poison, since we have them in supply currently. Luckily she left enough in their system for us to identify it, which is handy. She must have known she wasn't going to be conscious long enough to let us know when she got back." Sakura spoke in an impressed tone, and pointed to the small bottles. "These are just a few vitamins to help her feel better once she's woken up, but she won't be up until maybe mid-afternoon tomorrow."

"Thank you, Sakura." Itachi didn't feel strange calling her by her first name, since they were friendly enough, and she had insisted on it since they saw each other once a week for medical sessions.

"Are you going to stay for while?" she asked after giving him a smile. Once he nodded, she put her pointer finger up in a 'Just a minute' gesture.

After 2 or 3 minutes, she came back with a book in her hand and gave it to him. He took it carefully and read the cover before looking back up at the medic with a raised eyebrow, silently asking her why she gave it to him.

"Hitori leant it to me, and I figured it would give you something to do while you sit. I've already finished it so go nuts." she shrugged and kept speaking, "My shift finishes in two hours, so I'll come and check on her before I go." she smiled at him again and swished away, closing the curtain behind her.

Itachi turned the book over to read the blurb and it seemed the book was the first of a trilogy of crime stories, involving murder, assassination, revenge, betrayal and so on. He couldn't say he was entirely interested at first, but decided that Sakura was right; it would give him something to do. So, he opened it and went through the first chapter and was hooked already.

By the time Sakura had come back, he had already read 4 chapters, and he hadn't realised how much time had passed. He finally dragged his head out of it when Sakura began to chuckle softly.

"You like it that much?" she was smiling as she checked that Hitori's IV bag was still going okay, and injected her with another syringe filled with some yellow concoction before she continued healing her. "I was hooked after the first chapter. She said she would give me the second book when I finished that one, but I finished it within a week and haven't had anything to read because she was away."

"It's...not what I expected." He offered and Sakura seemed to take his lack of criticism as a good thing and chuckled softly again.

"Well, it's good that you are enjoying it. Anyway, I'm heading home. Hitori has Miho looking after her tonight so she'll be fine. Coming?" Sakura gestured for to him to join her on her way out.

"I'll stay. Thank you." he declined, but Itachi didn't actually feel like leaving. He was still concerned about Hitori's well being, even though he knew that she was in good hands.

"Alright. Just don't stay too late, okay? You need to rest after going to help her. You're not that out of shape, but you shouldn't push it. Night." the medic waved goodbye and he nodded in return before she strolled out.

He didn't mind staying, and he still didn't feel like eating anything. He certainly wasn't tired. Maybe the adrenaline of being somewhat out in the field again hadn't exactly worn off yet. Even though he probably wouldn't admit it aloud, it was exhilarating being out there, racing through the trees because lives depended on him. Especially because he was trying to help someone who had treated him very kindly and even made him smile since he got back. That was why he didn't mind staying for a little longer to keep an eye on her.

By the time he had finished another 3 chapters of the book, the nurse Miho came to check on Hitori, and smiled at him before she changed the saline solution since the bag was almost empty and examined her with chakra. She injected a few things into the IV line, some of the vitamins Sakura left that would help her recover from exhaustion. Once she was done, she scribbled a few things down on her chart and Itachi paid her no mind, nose back in his book until she spoke to him.

"Commander Uchiha, it's so late at night that it's early. Go and get some rest. I can have someone contact you when she wakes up." her soft voice was just loud enough for him to hear.

"I'm fine. Thank you." he nodded to her in thanks and she shrugged and disappeared after she finished updating Hitori's chart.

He had met Miho once or twice when he had come in for his appointments with Sakura. She seemed nice and Sakura had said she was competent and experienced, but Itachi had a feeling that he wouldn't rest even if he went home.

After another hour or so, he glanced at the page number, his photographic memory filing the image away for later and he sunk down a little further in the chair. Crossing his arms over his chest, his closed his eyes, intending to rest as best he could whilst in the wooden monstrosity that was the hospital chairs. While he dozed lightly, he took in the sounds of Hitori shuffling in her sleep, as well as the few night nurses checking on everyone occasionally. He was able to shut his thoughts off, at least for the next few hours until the sun finally rose and the hospital began buzzing with more staff arriving.

Sakura appeared from behind the curtains and sighed at him with a frown on her face.

"You slept here?" she asked incredulously, although she already knew the answer.

He did not deign that with a response, being far too out of it to think of anything eloquent anyway. Even though he wasn't tired last night, he was definitely tired now. He must have fallen into a deeper sleep at some stage, but not enough for him to actually get any proper rest. Sakura groaned and rolled her eyes at him, but didn't berate him any further, more than likely aware that he wouldn't listen anyway. The damage was already done anyway.

She walked over to Hitori's bedside and her hands glowed green with the flow of her chakra. Carefully, she focused while she examined their mutual friend and Itachi tilted his head to either side, stretching his neck that was sore from sleeping on a wooden chair. He didn't even want to think about how stiff his back would be when he got up, but decided to deal with that when Sakura wasn't in the room.

"She's doing fine. Her body is responding well now that she has gotten the antidote and once she is up, she'll be able to do anything else she needs on her own. Aside from that, she just needs lots of rest, water and food." Sakura informed him, and he nodded slowly in response.

"Don't you have to go ANBU headquarters today?" She asked suspiciously, wondering whether he was skipping work to be here.

"I will go later in the afternoon." he replied evenly to try and stop her from arguing with him, but it failed miserably.

"Right. Then I  _order_  you, to go home and rest."

His only response was to stare blankly and raise an eyebrow as if to say 'You cannot order me to do anything'. Although he wasn't entirely correct, he sort of hoped that if he tried it anyway that she would just let him have his way. When she placed her hands on her hips, he knew he was in for it.

"Don't you dare look at me like that. I don't care if you are the ANBU Commander. I am the Head Medic and you are in  _my freaking hospital._ Also, I can make sure that you aren't allowed to work if I sign the right papers  _and_  ensure that the Hokage personally enforces them." she smirked darkly at him and he felt his expression fall at the mention of the Hokage.

As brave as Uchiha Itachi had been in his life, he wasn't sure he was ready to go toe to toe with the Hokage over such a small issue. He knew that Sakura was exaggerating to intimidate him, but such a thing was certainly within her power. Sighing softly, he decided to let her win this round and nodded his agreement to going home.

With a triumphant smirk, she removed her hands from her hips and began writing on Hitori's chart before she placed it back in it's holder and she nodded in satisfaction.

"Well, I'm going to get a new saline bag for Hitori, and I don't want to see you here when I get back." she spoke in a firm tone, but he could hear her teasing lilt to it.

"As you command, Head Medic Haruno." he quipped back, a tiny smirk on his face, rising to her level of dramatism as best he could. Although they weren't exactly close, they were friendly enough to engage in simple banter.

She laughed softly with a grin and gave him a nod and patted him on the shoulder. "Get some rest, Itachi."

After she left, he set his mind to the task of getting up out of the horrid chair. He knew it was going to hurt and that he would be walking like he was made of wood on the way home, but part of being a shinobi was getting used to sleeping wherever you could, whenever you could. Dealing with the discomfort in your body after waking up just came with the territory. A quiet, pained groan rumbled in his throat as he levered himself up as best he could.

He felt like he was 70 years old and rolled his shoulders forward and back a few times to loosen up a little before he made the short trek back to his apartment. Satisfied that he had done all he could, he glanced at Hitori for a long moment then he let her be and went home. When he got into his bedroom, he stripped off his shirt, weapon holsters, and everything else unnecessary. He was so stiff he had to sit down on his bed to take off his pants, leaving only his underwear on to sleep in.

Feeling too exhausted, he crawled up the bed and got under the covers and tried to convince his brain that he definitely needed to go to sleep. Luckily, he was just tired enough to win that mental argument within roughly 10 minutes or so and he drifted off to a much needed deep sleep...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll endeavour to update within the next week or so! Thank you for reading and for your support <3


	10. Alive

**Chapter 10 - Alive**

Hitori rolled over in a bed, that she realised in the back of her mind was not her own. She cracked her eyes open, and sat up abruptly when she noticed she was in the hospital. Stiffness ran through her entire body and she became dizzy from sitting up so fast and her head quickly hit the pillow again. Her chakra was almost full, and she sent small probes of it through her system to analyse how much poison was in her system.

As she expected, all of it was gone, and her other wounds were almost gone. She was just completely exhausted, both physically and mentally. From just outside her room, she felt Miho's presence and called out to her so she knew she was awake.

"Hey! Glad you are awake. How are you feeling?" the brunette asked. They were roughly the same age, but Miho only worked in the hospital.

"Like I've been beaten up by Naruto." She groaned and Miho chuckled softly.

"I heard you did a brilliant job looking after your teammates on your mission." Miho said as she sat down on edge of the bed and handed Hitori a cup filled with water.

"Ugh, I'll get in trouble for doing what I did later." She grimaced and downed the whole cup and then a second.

"I'll go let Sakura know you're awake."

Miho smiled at her and disappeared through the curtain. Sakura stepped through the flimsy barrier a few minutes after and seemed pleased to see her friend awake. Hitori smiled at her.

"Well, well. Not much can keep you down for long, hmm?" Sakura walked straight over to her bedside and used chakra to examine her. She gave Hitori a knowing glance once she realised she had done it already.

"What? It's habitual. How are the others?" Hitori asked, diverting Sakura's attention.

"They are doing fine. You did the hard yards for us. They should be discharged in the next few days. Kisuke might stay the rest of the week though." She explained and jotted things on Hitori's chart. "I hear you were escorted home by the Commander  _personally."_ She emphasised with a smirk.

"He didn't need to come himself, but we both know he's stubborn." Hitori couldn't help but smile at the memory of waking up on his shoulder.

"Itachi stayed all night to keep watch on you. I only managed to send him home early this morning when I got here. I had to threaten him with the Hokage to get him to leave." Sakura replied with a laugh and suspicious glint in her eye.

Hitori wasn't quite sure what to say to that. She was definitely flattered that he not only came to get her, but also stayed in the hospital to make sure she was alright. She doubted it was merely because he was too tired to go home. He had strong willpower and could drag himself home if he needed to. It wasn't like he had done anything aside from run with her. Her smile became a little softer at the thought of the Uchiha. He was surprisingly kind and sweet when he wanted to be. She would make sure to tease him about it later. Maybe it was because he wanted to rouse on her though.

"Is there something going on between you two?" Sakura asked randomly and Hitori's jaw might have hit the floor if she wasn't lying down.

"What?! Don't be ridiculous."

"Surely you are aware that he doesn't treat everyone like that."

"Well, yeah. But, maybe it's just because I'm nice to him. It's not like the entire village loves with him. He probably still deals with open hostility at his return, despite the Hokage's announcement."

"As long as you're sure…" Sakura trailed off before she put Hitori's chart back. "Will you promise me that you'll rest if I have you discharged?"

Hitori nodded vigorously, wanting to go home to her own bed. She had spent a decent amount of money on her mattress to ensure that it was comfortable. It was more expensive than a month's rent, but it was a damn sleep trap and if she was going to rest, home was the place to be. Sakura narrowed her eyes and made a thoughtful noise before she finally nodded and headed out to process her discharge.

She got up and noticed that her clothes were practically ruined, and sighed. When Sakura returned, she brought a change of clothes for her as well.

"I got them from your place on my way here this morning." She smiled as Hitori ruffled her hair in thanks and got dressed quickly before she signed the discharge papers.

"You're a legend, Sakura. Thanks again." Hitori gave her friend a brief hug before heading off to let her get back to work.

After she had made the short stroll home, Hitori hopped in the shower, making sure the water was as hot as she could stand. For at least twenty minutes, she stayed in there to wash the dried blood, and dirt off herself and washed her hair. She was still exhausted and didn't even bother putting on pyjamas when she was dried off. Instead, she threw on a pair of underwear and got straight into bed. It wasn't like anyone was coming over anytime soon, so she didn't need to worry about someone finding her half naked in bed.

With a grin and chuckle, she kicked her feet against the mattress, feeling strangely elated about Commander Uchiha looking after her so kindly. She wouldn't admit it out loud, but it may have made her heart flutter in a way that she wasn't exactly familiar with. He was a man after all, and a rather attractive one at that. To say that she didn't think of him as a man would be a lie. Although she didn't think that she had feelings for him, maybe it was just a teensy crush. No man had been as nice to her as he had...ever. Not even Haruko treated her like that when they had their fling.

She rolled around a few times, thoroughly ruining the tidiness of her sheets and blanket, but she didn't really care. She needed to talk herself out of such a ridiculous notion of having a crush on her Commander and she needed to do it as soon as possible. Maybe if he was anyone else other than Uchiha Itachi, it might not be so bad. It might actually be a possibility to see one another and date or something. But he was Uchiha Itachi, who had the mental fortitude and the composure of a monk. He didn't exactly seem like the type who was interested in dating or relationships. Too focused on his work. She did respect him for that and wondered whether maybe that was why she hadn't dated anyone.

Since her genin team had been killed in action, she hadn't focused on anything else but work. She worked on becoming a better shinobi, a better medic and hadn't thought of much else. If Haruko and Sakura hadn't become friends with her of their own volition, she wouldn't have any friends at all. At least if she got put on hospital duty as punishment for disobedience from the mission, Sakura was there to ease the pain.

Her mind was far too tired to keep up her train of thought, and she drifted off into a deep sleep and didn't wake until late the next morning...

* * *

Itachi had his nose buried in paperwork all day. He was thoroughly sick of it, but it was to be expected since he had just received so many missions lately. There was going to be a couple of cells arriving back today and he was also expecting the report from Hitori's team to be turned in. The rest of her cell had recovered and the Captain had written up the report whilst in the hospital. His wounds hadn't been too bad aside from a concussion and the poisoning, so they had kept him for observation. Ryuka would be released today as well, and Kisuke would be off active duty for a few weeks to fully recover.

Just after he had finished that thought, the dark haired woman appeared in his doorway and bowed in greeting. He invited her in and she handed him the mission report that had been signed off. She had also attached her report as a medic which would give details on any treatment that was provided. It was mostly for hospital records, but only the information that wasn't confidential would be in their medical files. The rest would be locked up in the ANBU archives.

"Are you alright, Sokkenai?" He asked her before she turned away and was amused when she raised a frustrated eyebrow at him.

"I am, Commander. Thank you." Although her voice was soft and polite, he saw through her anyway.

"You may speak freely." He offered, hoping that maybe she would explain her expression.

After at least ten seconds of silence, and Hitori looking like she was trying to decide what to say, she finally spoke up.

"Why did you advise for me to stay back on that mission?" She lost some of the professionalism in her tone, but that was what he wanted. "You should have allowed me or Ryuka to be bait."

"You are the medic. It's your job to stay back. And I believed the plan I gave you to be a better method at the time with the information I had." He answered, but she didn't seem satisfied.

"I understand that, but there is no need to preserve my pride or dignity. I am a kunoichi, and I am not above being used in a  _traditional_  sense. I am well aware that it comes with the territory. Being a medic allows me to kill my mark without weapons as well."

Itachi heard the tension in her voice, but it didn't seem like it was directed at him. More or less the situation itself. He knew exactly what she was talking about in regards to what 'traditional' methods were for kunoichi. It wasn't so common now, but in times past, female shinobi were the best assassins as they were able to seduce their targets and kill them. Itachi did not agree with women being used that way, although it was sometimes necessary for the sake of the mission. However, he knew that she was probably right and decided to try and cheer her up in hopes that she didn't hold it against him. She had been through a lot because of his oversight and outdated information.

"Do you always use traditional methods to your advantage?" He allowed his voice to hold a teasing lilt to it and it took her a moment to realise that he was joking.

"Commander!" She said with a laugh that she tried to hide.

"Relax. I'm not talking to you as your Commander, currently." He replied with a huff.

"Well then, Uchiha. I do whatever is required to complete the mission. Wouldn't you do the same?" She retorted back and he didn't miss her point.

"I'm sure if I attempted such a tactic, I would be recognised from the Bingo Book." He answered with an eyebrow raised in amusement at her attempt to win him over.

"Isn't that what henge is for?" She said with a smirk.

"Regardless, you are the medic. Putting you at risk like that is not wise in any scenario."

"Irrelevant. The plan was for me to hang back, and I got the short end of the stick anyway. If I was able to enter with them to start, we might have been okay. Since we weren't expecting such resistance, we may have been able to complete the mission more efficiently."

He didn't answer quick enough and one of the other Captains knocked on the door to present their mission report. They must have only just returned. Instead of lingering, Hitori bowed and exited before he could stop her.

Once the Captain had handed him the report and left, he allowed himself a brief sigh. No one had spoken to him on such terms since he had become Commander. She had actually spoken to him like he was a human being and not just an emotionless machine. He wasn't bothered if it was considered unprofessional, since he needed to be able to talk to those under him whilst he was in a position of authority. If he didn't get used to that, he might accidentally assign a mentally unstable shinobi to a mission which might cause a mental breakdown. He had to try and get to know the operatives as best he could to ensure they were always efficient and ready for missions.

Since he wasn't exactly a people person, that would be the difficult part…

* * *

"Yami. You are summoned."

She nodded and the masked ANBU disappeared into a whirl of leaves. Since it was her code name, she needed to go to ANBU HQ. Itachi must have thought he was fairly funny giving her that code name. Although she was surprised he hadn't found a way to shorten 'abrasive outbursts' into some manner of nickname.

When she arrived, she approached his office door and resisted the urge to roll her eyes and flip the bird at the Captain for her last mission, whose name she now knew was Kuroku. His cavalier attitude towards her keeping their comrades alive just frustrated her too much. But she tried to keep her composure and professionalism.

"This is a meeting to request disciplinary action for ANBU agent, Sokkenai. Captain Kuroku, would you please explain your reasons for your request?" Itachi's voice was surprisingly firm, and she realised that she sometimes forgot how seriously he took his job.

"During our last mission, despite both my orders and your mission plan, she disobeyed and went ahead, disregarding her position as medic." He started and Itachi began to nod but held a hand up to stop him from continuing.

"On your report, I saw that there was rogue shinobi that had been hired to guard your mark. Did you adjust or revise your plan before approaching?" Hitori would have pissed herself laughing if she wasn't risking getting in further trouble at Itachi's matter of fact tone.

"I did not believe them to be a problem. They were few in number and none too strong." Itachi nodded and he continued. "When myself and the other two agents were fighting our way through,  _she_ was supposed to watch our backs and be ready to heal us if needed. Instead, she broke through enemy lines, went ahead to kill our target on her own with no regard for how that might affect our safety. We also would have been blind to a rear attack after she abandoned her post." His tone sounded like there was poison laced in it and she waited silently for her chance to speak.

"And what is your reason for disobeying orders?" Itachi finally turned to her, giving her the chance to elaborate even though he would have read her medical report already, which held some of the details.

"On approach, I scouted ahead as far as I could into the compound and discovered the rogue shinobi. I could only see around 20 from such a distance and I believe there was around 24 in total. I informed the Captain of this, but he had no regard for changing a plan that had been tailored with different information." She began to explain but got cut off.

"Shinobi, especially ANBU should be able to adapt to any situation." He said with arrogance he couldn't quite hide.

"As ordered, I stayed back while they fought to provide ranged support and be ready to heal my comrades. Unfortunately, no one listened when I informed them that one of the enemy was creating a poison cloud and if they did not retreat that they would be caught in it. The Captain refused the suggestion to retreat, and as a result they were all poisoned. I approached to do my job as a medic, and realised upon allowing myself to be poisoned that it was severe enough for me to take drastic action. Had I not gone ahead, I would not have had enough time to heal my comrades before the poison's effects would become irreversible."

"You still left them vulnerable to attack from the rear." Itachi asked her, but from his minor change of expression, he seemed to know what she was going to say next.

"As always, in such a scenario, I place chakra sensors and my jutsu mark behind me so that if I am busy healing someone, I will have warning for a rear approach." She elaborated and enjoyed the slight widening of the Kuroku's eyes. He was not aware of this fact because he was too busy being partially unconscious.

"That is a wise idea, but not infallible."

"Of course, but as we were up against shinobi without any formal training, I believed it to be sufficient." She answered back with no hesitation, trying to sound confident. Even though she believed her actions were justified, if Itachi didn't, she was in deep shit. Despite the fact that they were on friendly terms, if she was in the wrong, he would reprimand her without hesitation.

"If your comrades were poisoned, why did you not heal them before you all continued to finish your mission?" He asked and she expected this to come up.

"There is a window with most poisons on how long you have before the damage becomes too severe. If I had waited until they had finished their fights and we killed our mark, those extra few minutes might have been enough for me to die protecting them whilst they were unconscious. Also, because of the poison lingering in the air, I would have received more damage to myself by staying to help them. I only allowed myself to inhale enough so that I could analyse its composition and how to metabolise it. By continuing forward, I allowed us to complete our mission, and give my comrades time to finish the rogue shinobi off so I could go back and heal them."

Itachi looked back to the Captain.

"You said that you were met with protests when you were attempting to find evidence of illegal activity after meeting up together in the rear of the compound."

"That's correct, Commander. I wanted to ensure we did not miss anything, but  _she_ continued to be disrespectful and arrogant."

"Remind me to leave you to die next time." She muttered quietly, her temper releasing a little. Itachi's gaze burnt through her before he spoke.

"Did you not think that listening to the woman trying to save the life of your comrades and yourself was a good idea?"

Itachi's dangerously blank expression made Hitori heart race in a way she didn't want to think about right now. His subtle way of defending her was incredibly satisfying and she enjoyed how professionally he did it. The Commander raised his hand to stop Kuroku from replying and looked over to Hitori.

"There was also the issue of the bounty hunters you mentioned. You said that your target informed you of them?"

"Yes, Commander. At first, I didn't believe him, thinking he was merely bluffing but once we finally got on the move, I felt presences pass the chakra sensors I placed earlier and I knew he was serious." Kuroku actually turned his head to look at her and she kept her cocky smirk in her mind.

"Unfortunately, we were not moving fast enough to lose them due to 3 of our cell being poisoned. Once Kisuke became unconscious, we were moving even slower again and I knew that I would have to turn and fight them eventually. When we found the clearing, both Ryuka and Kuroku passed out shortly after, and I was forced to defend them as well as try and keep them alive."

"And that was when you sent word to Konoha?"

"I sent word as soon as we found the clearing. I knew we were not going to make it home and I expected that I would not survive long enough for help to arrive. I assumed you would only find traces of our presence after I destroyed our bodies." She enjoyed Kuroku's solemn silence as much as she could.

"So, your side is that Sokkenai disobeyed your orders, was consistently disrespectful to your command and that she abandoned her post?" Itachi asked the Captain, who nodded meekly.

"And your side is that your medical expertise suggested that if you did not take the action you took, that you and your comrades would have all died, from poisoning and bounty hunter attacks. Your protests was your way of telling your Captain that you needed to leave to give yourselves the best chance of survival." Though he phrased it like a statement, she nodded anyway.

Itachi sat back in his chair and took a deep breath, and decided what to do while Hitori was not expecting to get out of this unscathed, but seeing Kuroku getting put in his place was definitely worth it. After a minute of looking between them, he made up his mind and leant forward, placing his forearms on the desk.

"Sokkenai, I saw the worst of what you went through and I do understand why you made your decisions, even though you were going against orders. Despite that, I cannot simply allow you to avoid punishment. You are suspended for a month and will also forfeit your paycheck from this mission." She nodded in understanding.

"Kuroku, while I feel some of your opinion is valid, I also believe that your oversight as a Captain is dangerous to those in your command. Also, your lack of respect and understanding in how hard the medics work to keep you alive is also dangerous. So, you are suspended for a month and must complete at least 14 days of volunteering in the hospital to learn respect for what medics do." Hitori practically heard Kuroku die a little inside and felt sadistic glee and the almost imperceptible slump of his shoulders.

"You are dismissed."

They both bowed and Hitori let Kuroku walk out first. She resisted the urge to look back at Itachi before she left, but figured he might come and see her later anyway. Missing her paycheck wasn't a huge issue, but being suspended for a month was going to be super boring. Maybe she would go to the hospital while Kuroku was 'volunteering' and give him grief. As good as that sounded, she knew she shouldn't be so petty since he did get punished also.

Once she headed out of ANBU, she went back home via the marketplace, and grabbed a few things since she was going to be here for a month. Maybe it would be a good time to try a few new recipes, since her cooking ability was quite frankly atrocious for someone who had lived alone for so long. Especially a shinobi who should be smart enough to be able to cook healthy food without burning her kitchen down.

After she had successfully cooked and eaten miso soup with pork and not burnt her kitchen down, nor given herself food poisoning, she settled down with some tea and a book. She was still enjoying remembering how darkly satisfied she was hearing Itachi saying that Kuroku should have listened to her and how idiotic he must have felt after being reprimanded for his attitude.

Speaking of which, she felt Itachi's chakra nearby and figured he was just getting in. When it wavered strangely and got closer to her side of the hall, she hopped up to open the door, and found him standing on the other side with his hands in his pockets...


	11. Apologies

**Chapter 11 - Apologies**

Why did he end up here?

Itachi had been minding his own business, taking a late night stroll before he went back to his new place. He didn't feel quite comfortable there yet, which he supposed was perfectly normal for any person, let alone a paranoid shinobi. He had been mulling over what Hitori had said to him the other day about his plan for her mission. Although she was probably just tired and frustrated, with good reason, he knew that there was truth in her words. He also felt guilty that the information that he had was out of date and caused this mess to occur.

Kuroku was definitely one of the more resolute and rule-abiding Captains, and he wasn't known for being compassionate. He was a 5 year ANBU veteran and had lost whatever empathy he may have had a long time ago. Considering how passionate Hitori could be about those around her being in danger, he should have rostered a different medic or a different Captain. Though to be fair, he didn't expect them to run into such a crazy situation. His information had been outdated. Still, he felt bad that Hitori had gone through so much because of his errors.

So instead of ending up at his door, he was standing in front of hers. Before he could turn away, the door opened with her confused face peeking from behind it. Her eyes went wide for a brief moment and she composed herself quickly and swung her door open further.

"I thought I sensed you there. Your chakra feels weird. Are you okay?" She blurted out without really thinking about it, but she fussed about people frequently.

"May I come in?" He somewhat ignored her question in favour of his own and she blinked at him twice before she stepped aside, opening her door fully.

Her apartment was an exact mirror image of his own. It was very minimally furnished and had very few personal touches aside from an colourful, ornate teapot on the kitchen counter, and he supposed there might be more in her bedroom, which was hidden from sight from where he was standing. She closed the door behind them and he ignored it but he did feel her awkward demeanour. He saw her shake her head out of the corner of his eye and resisted the urge to do the same, still a little unsure of exactly what he wanted to say and how. It was far too late to leave without saying what he needed to anyway.

She gestured for him to sit at the small dining table, which had two matching chairs. He sat quietly and linked his fingers together on the table while she floundered around for a few seconds, clearly feeling flustered.

"Uhh, would you...like some tea?" Her tone was carefully controlled, not giving away her thoughts on the situation at hand.

Itachi finally looked over at her and noticed that she certainly wasn't dressed for company, which might have explained her awkwardness. She was in a skimpy, dark blue crop top, and a matching pair of shorts that had a yin yang symbol on the left side. They showed the toned muscles of her legs and what looked to be the start of a tattoo that disappeared into her shorts. He blinked slowly and stared at his hands, knowing that it was rude to stare and that although she was a little distracted, she would notice eventually.

"Yes, thank you." He finally answered her, and she began fussing in her small kitchen. Luckily, she grabbed a small cardigan from somewhere and put it on while she made tea.

This gave him a bit of a chance to decide what to say. However it seemed like only seconds until the kettle whistled loudly and she poured their tea. She came over to the table, carrying their cups and saucers and carefully placed his down in front of him with a slightly awkward smile. Once she sat down, he just said the first thing that came to mind.

"I apologise."

Hitori bumped her cup in shock and it made a loud clang against the saucer.

"I'm sorry, what?" She responded after a long moment of silence.

"I apologise."

She continued watching him for a short while before she blinked slowly and raised an eyebrow in question.

"Exactly what are you apologising for? Just so I'm clear." She didn't seem to be teasing him, so he replied with his normal, even tone.

"I apologise about having outdated information on your mission. I also apologise for placing Kuroku on the mission as the Captain. He is not known for his flexibility. My...oversights caused all of this to happen and I am sorry." His thought his explanation was simple and perfectly understandable, but he still got the feeling that she wasn't convinced.

She sipped her tea and took a calming breath before she spoke. He was expecting one of her abrasive outbursts, and even though he usually found it amusing, he doubted he would be able to see the humour in it today. Considering that he almost lost 4 operatives and someone he may actually miss if they died, it would be difficult to find it funny.

"May I speak freely, Commander?"

"Of course."

"Regardless of what I said about kunoichi methods, that doesn't mean such a plan would have worked. If it didn't, it would have more than likely ended up with us all dead anyway. I don't think you were wrong, and I'm not angry or upset with you. You made a mission plan based on the information that you had. The fact that Kuroku did not revise it was out of your control." She chewed her bottom lip until she found the right words. "I suppose that my point is that hindsight is always clearer. You have nothing to apologise for." She shrugged with one shoulder and sipped her tea again.

Itachi was somewhat speechless and unsure of how to reply, so he just sat quietly, staring at the brown liquid in his cup. He looked up when Hitori began to speak again.

"I do very much appreciate you coming over here to apologise though. That is...admirable of you. I already have a great deal of respect for you for a multitude of reasons, but now you've just given me another. So, thank you for that as well."

He stared at her and absorbed her words. Although the feeling was unfamiliar, he knew that her words had resonated with him somewhere deep down and boosted the minimal self-esteem he had. The other strange sensation was his feeling a little flustered, also something that didn't occur often with his stoic self.

"Don't look at me like that. You are one of the greatest shinobi to walk this earth. Even without the Sharingan, your intellect alone would basically ensure your victory in any fight." She spoke matter of factly, but not as if she was sucking up to him. He got the feeling she was just calling it how she saw it, and her rambling was rather amusing, and sweet, dare he admit it to himself.

"I think the thing I respect about you most is how selfless you are. What you've done to protect Konoha is so amazing that it almost brings me to tears. After hearing that you were going to be the ANBU Commander, I was really happy. A lot of other people were too, but I think they just wanted to see how good you are. But I was just glad to know that I would be taking missions from someone who I knew without a shadow of a doubt was doing this for the good of Konoha. All shinobi can learn something from you and I hope that I do too."

She smiled brightly and it caught him slightly off guard. Before that, he had seen her smirk and smile, but not like  _that._ He couldn't help but smile a little himself. It was small, but it was there nonetheless and he only managed to nod in reply to her kind words.

He finally took a sip of his rapidly cooling tea and immediately was impressed by how nice it was. There was taste of cocoa to it, and he also got a hint of hazelnut as well. It was wonderful. She seemed to notice his pleasant surprise and chuckled softly at his reaction.

"Do you like it?" She asked incredulously, apparently surprised that he broke his composure over a cup of tea.

He answered with a small sound of affirmation and by drinking more and she watched him quietly as he enjoyed the rest of his cup.

"It's from this tiny village a few hours from here. They make it all by hand. When is your birthday? I'll buy some for you."

Her familiar tone didn't make him feel uncomfortable, as he expected it would. Instead, it actually made him feel a small glimmer of joy. Barely anyone had been genuinely nice to him since he had come back. Some treated him with open disdain or others with nonchalance. Most were polite to his face at least. But this was the first action he would consider so openly generous. He hadn't received a birthday present since before the massacre and he was awed by her sudden kindness. Team Seven were great to him and most of the jonin were as well, but he doubted they were going to give him birthday presents.

"The 9th of June."

"Since I'm suspended for a month, I'll have time to go and get some." She said it with an amused smirk, but he felt he need to elaborate anyway.

"You know I had to do something. I couldn't just let it slide although I agreed with your actions." He did was truly sorry and she waved her hand in understanding.

"Of course you did. Being suspended for a month is worth it to see you put Kuroku in his place." Her darkly amused smirk made him relax a little.

"Did you enjoy it that much?"

He allowed his amusement to show in his tone and nearly spat out his tea when she closed her eyes, bit her bottom lip, and exhaled in a dramatically pleasured way. To say that he had not seen a woman do that before would be correct, and to say that a small part of him didn't enjoy the sight would be incorrect.

"I really did enjoy it. You were fan- _tastic_." She purposely exaggerated the word and laughed.

"Was I?"

"Mhmm. Very cool." She said with a laugh and disarming smile.

"Glad to be of service." Was all he could come up with along with a shy smile.

They had a strange silence but it wasn't awkward as he watched her laughter die down. It was quite nice to see him make someone laugh for a chance. It had been so long since he could truly be himself and he was very much enjoying taking off the mask he had worn for so long, and be the man he was underneath. As much as it surprised him, knowing that he had made someone smile and laugh made his heart swell for the first time in years. All he had done for so long was cause pain and sorrow, and it was a wonderful change. Seeing how cheery he had made Hitori, although he had suspended her, made him glad to be alive to have the chance to make someone laugh and smile.

"Would you like some more?" She offered cheerily as always.

He nodded and pushed his cup towards her end of the table, pulled from his thoughts. She picked it up while grabbing the tea from the cupboard and rinsing the teapot quickly. When she was finished, she brought the whole pot over and poured him a fresh cup and one for herself.

Another long silence passed them by, but it didn't feel awkward. Itachi never really made a habit of going to other people's houses at any stage of his life, since he was never good at initiating contact or friendships. This was surprisingly simple though, or maybe Hitori was just easy to get along with.

"You are an impressive shinobi, Sokkenai." He was aware that he saw this out loud, but the thought passed through his lips before he had really noticed.

"Hah!" She scoffed and rolled her eyes. "There is no need to sing my praises just because I rambled on about respecting you before. Don't joke with me." She waved him away and picked up her cup again.

"I am serious. You are analytical and have a strategic mind. Your desire to help your comrades is admirable. Your specialty in treating battlefield injuries is superb and your abilities with your jutsu have great potential." He was almost repeating her speech from before, just changing the bits to suit her. His tone matched as well, stating facts.

"Oh, stop it. You'll make me blush." She said with a charming smile before she digressed. "I don't have good enough control with my jutsu. Having no one else who knows anything about it doesn't help. I've figured out how to use it myself so far, hence my lack of progress." She frowned and turned to her head to one side, as if to hide her disappointment with herself.

"I may not be knowledgeable in how it works, but I am happy to assist you in becoming more creative and proficient in its use." He gave her a slight shrug.

"You mean that you would train me?" Her tone changed from controlled to shock and awe and her eyes were wide.

He nodded. She frowned and stumbled over her words for a moment.

"Why?" Her lack of faith in herself confused him, since he had never doubted his own abilities. But he supposed that he couldn't just treat her like he would treat himself.

"As I said, I believe you have great potential. And you are always kind to me. You are the only person in ANBU who treats me like a human being. I would like to repay you somehow."

His sincerity must have surprised her as her chin dropped her chest and he could see that she had blushed red all the way up to her ears. A shadow of a smile appeared on his face.

"I would...um, appreciate that. T-Thank you Commander."

"I'm not your Commander at the moment. You may call me by my name."

"Uhh, I'll try to remember." Her being so flustered was rather adorable.

He finished his tea quickly and thanked her politely before leaving and making a beeline for his apartment. Once he was behind the safety of his front door, he allowed his composure to drop.

In roughly 15 minutes, he had apologised, praised and complimented, as well as offered to train her. Everything that he said was true, and training her would give her an opportunity to advance to a better squad in ANBU. That would allow her to stop taking mission plans from him and would show the higher ups just how skilled and smart she was. She had already done a few unranked missions, but there was plenty more that would suit her skill set that needed doing.

He didn't feel as shocked as he expected to and supposed that their exchanges beforehand had made him feel comfortable to be so friendly with her. She did seem like a kind and bubbly person, though he felt sad at how little confidence she had in herself. He had read through her personnel file and found out that her genin team had been killed when she was young and gathered that she hadn't really been able to build it back up after that. Despite her medical training, and her position in ANBU, it seemed like nothing would convince her that she was a good shinobi. His words had hit home somehow though, or she would not have reacted by blushing. Maybe receiving praise from him, someone whom she looked up to, was the only reason it worked.

He smiled at the memory of her happy expression, even as he was falling asleep later that night…


	12. Stress

**Chapter 12 - Stress**

Itachi was finally heading home after being stuck at ANBU HQ for over 16 hours three days running. With all the fuss regarding the last cell being killed in action, he just hadn't been able to get out of there. Once the second run of scouts had returned, he had only slept about an hour and had gone back to assign the new team. He had barely eaten or drank any water, and knew that he would have to stay awake for a little while longer to make sure that he rehydrated and ate a decent meal before he could sleep. He had found that since his job was mostly a mental strain now, that his body wasn't anywhere near as tired as he would like. Barely having time to train or spar with anyone didn't help that. Even Kakashi had been too busy lately, and they had only been able to meet and train once in the last two weeks. The Copy Nin wouldn't get back from his current mission until next week either. He wasn't really comfortable asking many other people, but maybe he could grab Sakura, or one of the other jonin. Naruto would be happy to oblige but he had been in Kumo for a while and wasn't coming back for a few more weeks.

Once he had entered his apartment, he kicked off his shoes lazily and groaned when one of them flew across the room. He would deal with it later. Heading straight for the fridge, he realised he had absolutely nothing ready to eat, he would have to make some effort to cook something. Resigning himself, he decided that maybe he would have some tea first. That would at least help him to relax a little before he made something to eat. He filled up the kettle and put it on the burner and grabbed out the tin. He lifted down his mug and the handle snapped clean off, causing the rest of the mug to smash all over the counter. Staring blankly as he held the intact handle, he sighed and cleaned up the mess. If he wasn't so tired, he probably would have caught the other half of it. His eyes were sore from using his Sharingan to complete all the paperwork as well, which didn't help.

After that was over, he carefully lifted down another mug, ensuring to hold the whole thing instead of just the handle, and poured himself a cup of tea once the kettle boiled. As it infused, he grabbed out ingredients from the fridge to make a quick stir fry. It was the quickest thing he could make with the least amount of effort and although he didn't have any fresh cuts of meat to have with it, he didn't really care right now. He would get his protein later after he had a decent sleep.

When he opened his cupboard to get out the noodles, he saw that he didn't actually have any. Nor did he have any rice. Closing his eyes tightly, he rubbed the bridge of his nose as he recalled that he used them only a few days ago in a similarly tired state. He had obviously forgotten, and groaned louder at his idiocy. He could sense Hitori was in her apartment just across the hall, and decided to go out on a limb and ask her if she had anything he could use.

After turning down the burner to a low heat, he left his apartment door open as he walked over and knocked on hers, waiting for her to open it. It was only a second later when she did and she gave him a polite smile. She was clearly in her pyjamas still, which was a pair of cropped muted gray trackpants and a faded black baggy t-shirt.

"Uchiha. To what do I owe the pleasure of your company?" she was cheery as always and it made him feel slightly better about how horribly his day had gone so far.

"Would you happen to have any uncooked noodles or rice I could use? I am slightly…" he trailed off as she disappeared into her kitchen for a moment, leaving the door open for him to come inside.

Awkwardly, he stepped in and peered around the corner as she opened up her fridge and grabbed a small metal bowl that was full of steamed rice. She handed it to him with a bright smile and if he wasn't so composed, his jaw would have dropped.

"I accidentally cooked too much rice yesterday." she grimaced and shrugged. "I wasn't paying attention. All yours." her tone was friendly, but still respectful.

He took the bowl from her outstretched hand and his trance didn't entirely end, but he was a little more with it. Blaming his delayed reaction on his exhaustion, he blinked slowly at the bowl, and then at her before he replied.

"Thank you." he managed to say in his tired state, and gave her a nod before heading back to his own apartment.

She didn't close her door and smiled once he nodded politely and shut his own door. If nothing else, she had been incredibly helpful to him so far. He appreciated how kind she had been, from immediately accepting his role as Commander to helping him find a place to live aside from ANBU HQ. He had no idea if she was this nice to anyone else, since usually ANBU shinobi weren't exactly the most polite and generous people. Especially the veterans who had seen too much in the line of battle.

Heading back to the kitchen, he stirred the rice in with the rest of the ingredients and served himself up a bowl. There was barely enough rice to make it even, but he was thankful nonetheless and ate as quickly as he could without making himself sick. Leaving his dishes in the sink for later, he went in the bathroom and stripped off, and prepared a towel for when he was done. As he turned the shower on, the shower head flew off and landed in the bathtub below with a few loud clunks, and water sprayed everywhere. Within a few seconds he had turned off the stream of water and he was already half soaked, and there was water all over the floor and even on the walls.

Tilting his head back to look up at the ceiling, as if cursing a higher power, he groaned loudly and grabbed his towel, only to find it wet. He left it where it was, and grabbed another and quickly dried himself off. The Uchiha pulled on his pants and shirt, leaving all his other bits and pieces on the bathroom floor, where they too, were wet. His clothes were splattered, but they weren't as bad as he expected.

He spun around and his eyes fell upon the now empty bowl that Hitori had given him on the counter. Since she had no hesitation giving him food, maybe she wouldn't mind if he used her shower too. He hoped anyway, and grabbed the bowl to return to her at the same time. This time, he shut and sealed his apartment door, and kept his towel thrown over his shoulder. He didn't bother putting shoes on as there was no point, and strolled over to her door, knocking softly once more.

It opened with only a few second delay, and he could immediately smell freshly brewed tea.

"Twice in one day? Aren't I lucky?" she chuckled softly as she took in his appearance. "You don't seem to be having the best day, Uchiha." she looked him up and down carefully, and he resisted the urge to groan again.

"May I impose on you and use your shower? Mine is...broken." he spoke softly as always, and tried to keep his voice even to not show his frustration. She could more than likely tell that he had more than enough of today.

"Come on in. It's on the right." she stood back and stretched her arm out towards the doorway and he thanked her with a nod and stepped inside.

"Here is your bowl as well. I haven't had a chance to wash it…" he trailed off, feeling rude that he hadn't even washed it before returning it, but she gave him a smile that told him it didn't matter and took it from him.

"No worries." she headed over and placed it in her sink, clearly leaving it for later like he had too.

She chuckled while she ushered him into the bathroom as he stood near her kitchen counter, feeling a little bit awkward. He found he didn't really mind being the subject of her amusement, since he guessed that he would laugh if their places were reversed. Closing the door behind him, he heard her begin to wash up the dishes and he took a breath and began to strip off once more. Fortunately, her shower did not destroy itself the second he turned it on and he proceeded with no problems.

Itachi realised halfway through that he was going to smell like Hitori as he washed the shampoo from his hair, which she would also find funny and didn't bother stopping the smile that appeared on his face. No one was there to see it, so there wasn't any harm in allowing himself the small display. At least he could find something amusing after the nightmare of a day he had experienced.

Once he was done, he quickly dried himself and dressed before heading out to where Hitori was quietly drinking tea and reading a book. She looked up at him and smiled politely and gestured for him to sit down.

"Want some tea?" she offered sweetly and he sighed softly before nodding and taking a seat across from her.

With all the grace of a shinobi, she tilted her chair back to reach another mug from the kitchen counter and landed back on the floor with no issues. She poured him a cup from the freshly brewed pot, as he suddenly recalled that he had left his tea untouched in the kitchen. Today had not been his day and he was appreciative that Hitori was at least kind enough to try and help.

"Thank you." he said quietly, in a voice barely louder than a whisper.

She had closed her book earlier and he stared at the cover, trying to figure out if he had read it before. He didn't recognise the title or even the author's name, but that didn't surprise him since he had spent so many years off the grid. Itachi couldn't even remember the last time he had read a good book.

"Do you like to read? I mean, aside from mission reports." she piped up, obviously noticing where his gaze was and he nodded silently in reply.

Hitori was quiet for a moment, and he looked up at her to see her expression had fallen from it's usual cheery one, to something much sadder. He wasn't quite sure why, but he stayed quiet and she took a slow deep breath before she became resolved and stood up, walking over to her bookshelf in the corner of the room. He hadn't noticed it consciously before, and took in just how packed full it was. There was piles on top of it, and on the floor beside it, and he was a little surprised at her ravenousness for novels.

She crossed one arm over her chest, and the other rested on it as she tapped her pointer finger to her chin in thought. After a moment, she began pulling out a few different books and lugged them all over to the small table that barely fit them all on there. His eyes were widened slightly as she began organising them in some sort of order and waited for her to finish.

"What do you prefer? Fiction, non-fiction, fantasy, sci-fi, crime?" she asked him with curious eyes and he wasn't exactly sure of the answer.

"I haven't read anything in such a long time. I don't know."

He glanced at the covers and guessed that the majority of these books weren't in his household as a child, or they had come out while he was still a missing nin. When he looked up at her a moment later, her brow was knit tightly together and she seemed to be trying to compose herself. She distracted herself by rifling through the pile once more.

"Mmm, I'm sure your standards are a bit higher than mine. How about I put you onto my favourite series? The third book is coming out shortly, and I've been rereading them. Sakura enjoyed them." she handed him the first book in the series and sipped her tea.

He nodded and she shuffled through a few more books, putting two more aside.

"I know you are super busy, but here is a couple more. If you don't like them, no worries. Let me know and I'll get you something else." she topped up their cups as she spoke, missing the way he watched her with appreciative eyes.

"Thank you, Hitori. That's very kind of you." he managed to get out, feeling slightly overwhelmed at her generosity.

Her expression faltered again like it had earlier, and he waited silently until she explained. He could see her hesitating but simply stayed quiet until she found the right words to say whatever was going through her head.

"It's okay. You said haven't been able to sit down and read a good book in a while…" she chewed her bottom lip and fiddled with her fingers nervously. "I'm sure that being back in Konoha is just as hard as it is good for you. You have a stressful job too. Having a book to zone out with always helps me get through a rough day."

Itachi was surprised by her honesty, and was glad that she had felt comfortable enough to share that with him. She was right, it was both difficult and wonderful being back in the place he loved so much. But of course there was going to be times that weren't so great, and he remembered being able to go home and read a book after a particularly messy mission when he was in Konoha years ago. Being an ANBU captain had been stressful as well. Now that he was the Commander, naturally his stresses had increased with the title. Hitori was right.

When he had finished his tea, he noticed that the sun had gone down. They had only chatted quietly about books for what must have been an hour or so and they had enjoyed two more pots of tea in that time. He was surprised to note that he wasn't feeling very stressed out now, just the tiredness lingered. As lovely as it was, he felt that he had probably overstayed his welcome by now. He had already eaten Hitori's food, used her shower, and now he had drunk about a litre of tea and was borrowing books from her.

Carefully he stood up, making a point to avoid the chair scraping along the wooden floor and decided what to say as Hitori stared at him expectantly.

"Thank you for today, Sokkenai. You are refreshingly kind." He bowed his head in thanks and she just beamed at him.

"Ah, you looked like you needed a friend." He only noticed because he was so close to her, but she pursed her lips for the briefest of moments and something unspoken passed behind her eyes.

"The last few days have been rather stressful." He replied as she stood up to walk him to her door, even though it was only 3 or 4 metres away.

"I can only imagine. Feel free to pop around anytime you'd like some tea and company." She offered politely as they strolled over to the door slowly.

"The offer is appreciated." If it was normal for him to do, he would have smiled. "Ah, I think you'll be on the mission to River next week as well. I still haven't received clearance for Kuzan to go back on active duty."

"Ah, no worries. Well, you'll have to survive without my company while I'm gone. If your shower hasn't been fixed by the time I leave, feel free to use mine." She reached past him to open her door and he stepped just outside the threshold.

"I'm sure it will be sorted. I can always use the showers at HQ." Her eyes went wide with horror for a second.

"Seriously? They are disgusting. As a medic, I advise that you avoid them like the plague." Hitori poked her tongue out in disgust and he huffed in amusement.

"Thank you for the warning." He couldn't resist the tiny smirk that appeared on his face and she laughed.

"Go get some rest, okay?"

She tapped him on the bicep to send him on his way and he was surprised at the physical contact enough to flinch. Pulling her hand back like she'd been burnt, Hitori bit her bottom lip nervously.

"Sorry, I didn't mean…" she trailed off but he shook his head.

"It's alright. I'm simply not used to the contact." Itachi tried to reassure her, but he was certain that he had probably hurt her feelings.

"I'll remember that for next time then." She nodded slowly, averting her eyes from him in the process.

"Please don't…" he sighed softly and tried to figure out the best way to fix this. "I have not been touched in a friendly or affectionate manner in many years. I do not wish for you to be upset because I was surprised."

After a moment, she nodded once more and looked up at him. She didn't seem too upset because he had hurt her feelings but her eyes held concern.

"No, you're right. I just didn't think of it. I'll just have to be more considerate in the future." She explained with a quiet voice.

Itachi was once again surprised. She wasn't upset because he had reacted to her touching him, but because she was worried about him. She had felt bad that she didn't consider his lack of contact with other people and she had startled him. With a soft sigh, he just watched her shift her weight between her feet for a moment. Making a split second decision, he reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder comfortingly. It felt very odd for him to initiate the contact, but it seemed to make her feel better when she relaxed under his touch.

Her silver-gray eyes stared into his deep brown ones and she waited for him to do whatever it was he had planned. Unfortunately, he wasn't quite sure himself.

"I will adjust with time." He spoke barely loud enough for her to hear but she nodded after his words sunk in.

She gave him a forced smile, and he let his expression soften before he removed his hand and headed back to his place. He hoped that he hadn't made her feel too bad, but he couldn't help it. After all she had done for him today, that was the last thing he wanted. Once he stepped inside and shut his door behind him, he leant back against the wall. He sighed heavily, but smiled despite himself.

Maybe with Hitori next door, things wouldn't be so bad…


	13. Shadows

**Chapter 13 - Shadows**

Hitori was walking toward the training grounds where Itachi would be meeting her. It surprised her that he didn't want to meet at dawn, but when she arrived and saw scorch marks, kunai targets and other signs of his own training, she figured that he wanted to warm up a bit first. Not that he needed to. He would be able to beat her with his eyes shut and the use of one hand. She didn't exactly want to think about how badly he was going to wipe the floor with her, but she also supposed she should resign herself to her fate nice and early.

She couldn't see him anywhere, but she could feel his encroaching presence, and dropped her backpack near a tree. Considering she wasn't even expecting to get a hit on him, she didn't really need to bring medical supplies, but it was better to be safe than sorry. Instead of trying to look for him, since she knew it was fruitless, she walked out into the middle of the training ground and just stood there. There wasn't any shadows for her to hide in, and he would know that. She was just leaving herself at his mercy, and hoping that he didn't embarrass her straight off the bat.

From the right behind her, she felt him creep through a shadow, but she couldn't react fast enough and he was upon her with a kunai at her throat.

"You could sense me coming?" he asked, not removing the blade from her skin. He had just enough pressure to stop her from moving, or it would cut her.

"You went through a shadow. I could sense you, but you are too fast." she said with a soft chuckle and she heard him huff from behind her.

He removed the kunai and dropped his arm, and she turned on one foot to face him. As she expected, he appeared to be slightly amused, and she sighed and shook her head. Obviously he was going to enjoy this, and she decided not to worry or be embarrassed by him destroying her, considering he was one of the most powerful shinobi to walk the earth. In the world, there was only a handful that could contest or beat him. She was definitely not one of these people.

"I'm sure you are enjoying yourself, but can you not embarrass me too terribly please? I am more sensitive than I appear." she said with a smirk and placed a hand over her heart and laughed when he merely raised an eyebrow to call her on her bullshit.

"May I suggest we work on your ability to remain and escape undetected?" he was clearly making fun of her in reference to her walking out in the open before, but it was good idea.

"Sure. Sounds good." she shrugged and nodded. "Shinobi hide and seek, hmm?" she added with a smirk and he nodded with a small smirk of his own.

"I'll give you a fifteen second head start." he crossed his arms, and closed his eyes, signalling that he was starting the count.

She swore at his abruptness and leapt away into the trees. She knew that it was going to be near impossible to escape him, especially when he wouldn't even need to Sharingan to find her, but this was her chance to push her jutsu to it's limits and figure out how best to use it. Once she had found the best spot within the short time constraints, she focused and enveloped herself into the shadow surrounding her. Conveniently, the tree cover gave her more of an advantage from the amount of shadow it created. She wasn't sure if the Sharingan would allow him to see her even if she was hidden, but she supposed she would find out.

Carefully as she could, she allowed herself to breathe silently as she waited for him to find her. It wouldn't be too long since he had started the count roughly thirty seconds ago. Abruptly, there was a kunai next to her head, embedded in the tree and she saw him step out from his hiding place. He was about 10 metres from her and he crossed his arms, looking quite pleased with himself, a faint smirk on his stupidly handsome face.

Stepping out from the shadows, she shrugged and he closed his eyes once more.

Swearing again at his lack of warning, she dashed off once more and found a new spot. After concealing herself the best she could, she groaned mentally now that she realised she shouldn't have told him she can sense him if he passes through shadow. That was how he had snuck up on her so quickly before. But to her knowledge, she would be invisible to the naked eye and she hadn't seen him using the Sharingan earlier.

Freaking prodigal genius.

Another few seconds and he had found her once more. She groaned again as he closed his eyes and let her hide once again.

Again, and again he found her easily, within a minute or two of her hiding. Even when she continued to run, even though he would be chasing her, only to try (and fail) to find a spot on the way, he found her with no trouble.

This time, she had stayed out of the canopy, and was crouching on the side of the tree, several large branches covering her fairly well. She knew she had left no traces on her way here, but she supposed that maybe it was only the traces that she would be able to pick up on. Itachi was more likely to see things she hadn't even realised were a sign of someone's presence.

She felt him standing in the shadow on the top of the larger branch above her, and although she guessed he had found her, she decided to keep up the charade as long as she could. If he was going to find her so easily, she could at least try and make it a little bit difficult for him.

_Knock knock…_

Her jaw dropped when he actually knocked on the tree branch like a door.

"Is anyone home?" she could hear the smirk in his voice and wished she could throw an exploding tag at his face.

"No." she said indignantly, and heard him snort in repressed laughter.

With a loud groan, she jumped up to stand in front of him and sat down on the branch. He had caught her within a minute of her hiding 12 times now, and she didn't feel like she was getting any better. Normally, the more you did something, the better you got. However, this didn't feel like improvement. Sometimes, he was catching her even easier than before. She supposed that he had simply been able to read her mind or something.

"Damn you, Uchiha." her shoulders were slumped forward and she was clearly pouting, but didn't find enough effort within her to care.

"Do you know why I am able to find you so easily?" he asked nonchalantly as he sat down next to her.

"Go ahead."

"Your scent."

She looked at him for a moment, and her head lolled backwards dramatically as she remembered putting on perfume this morning. Normally, when she was in the village, as most women did, they were able to put in a bit more effort into their appearance. Since they were used to smelling like a mix of dirt, grass, blood and smoke, it was nice to use some perfume on their days off. Hitori hadn't even thought anything of it, but she realised now that it was stupid to not even consider it.

"Ugh, I'm so stupid." she laid back on the huge branch and groaned, allowing herself a small tantrum at her own idiocy and whacked her limbs against the wood.

"Not at all. It is merely not something you considered since you are in a safe place." he was trying to comfort her, and it sort of worked, but she also knew that it was a academy level error. "If it's any consolation, your perfume is quite nice."

Sitting upright once again, she stared at him for a moment and he held her gaze evenly.

"I'm glad you approve." she said with mock appreciation and gave him a sickly sweet smile.

After she stayed just long enough to see him smirk, she dropped from the tree, and landed on the ground below. He followed her and landed a moment later, and she felt his gaze on him, and she removed all of her weapon holsters and placed them on the ground.

"Straight up hand to hand, no weapons. No Sharingan since you won't even need it." her tone became a little weaker than she had intended, and she felt his gaze intensify.

He nodded and followed her to the middle of the clearing as they faced off. She was already feeling dejected, so she supposed she couldn't feel much worse after her stupidity had ruined their session. The whole idea was to train her to become better with her jutsu, and they weren't even able to because she was an idiot. After groaning inwardly, she supposed it was better to get her humiliation over and done with and rushed at him.

To his credit, he seemed to make it look like he was trying harder than he actually was, and didn't bother countering her until she began to tire. When he found an opening, he twisted her arm up behind her back and hit her softly on the back of her neck, simulating him knocking her out. She exhaled heavily as she felt his grip fall away and she strolled a few steps in frustration before she spun back again and readied herself once more.

Itachi came at her this time, and she was on the defensive with no hope of countering or even dodging his attacks. He was so fast, but she could feel him holding back against her. At least he was trying to give her a chance to improve, but she still felt utterly ridiculous. When she trained with Sakura or Haruko, she at least had a fighting chance to win. With Itachi, she just felt like a fool. Regardless of that fact, as they continued to face off, her logic won out and she talked herself out of the slump, remembering that he was a genius with intellect second only to the Yondaime, and would be able to beat Kakashi in a serious fight. Maybe even Naruto.

With her smaller size, she knew she would be able to exploit something, if only she was patient. He wasn't tiring in the slightest, and she did everything she could to block and avoid his flurry of fists and feet. She had only used this idea once before against Haruko, and surprisingly, it had worked, but he wasn't Uchiha Itachi. When he stepped forward with a punch aimed at her head, she timed it just right and slipped her arm around his and grabbed his collar.

As quickly as she could, she leapt up and put one leg in front onto his waist, while her other leg came behind him, at the backs of his knees, sweeping his legs out from behind him. After a rotation of her hips, he went straight down to the ground with her. She kept the hold of his collar and clambered on top of him, but he simply rolled them over and then she was on her back. Her legs were around his middle immediately, and she tried to fight him off. It wasn't working, so she decided to make a last ditch effort to at least disable him.

She grabbed one of his hands, and as he attempted to use the other to pull her off him, she quickly moved her legs to wrap around his neck. He was in a bad spot now, with both of his arms trapped and she squeezed her legs together as best she could, whilst she raised her hips up. This caused his arms to straighten to the point where they were hyperextended and his composure finally fell away with a grimace.

Continuing her strain, he finally whacked the ground with his foot twice in quick succession, signalling that he had enough. Normally, you would tap on your opponent with your hand, but she had a hold of his, so that wasn't an option. Immediately, she let him free and rolled backward over her shoulder to a kneeling position. She had a minor concern that he might go for her again, but she had created some distance between them in hopes of discouraging such an attempt.

He had sat back on his legs and they stared at one another as they caught their breath.

"Is that why you suggested taijutsu?" he said with a faint smirk, that actually made him look like he was proud of her.

"I didn't expect to even get close to you, let alone get a hit in." she grinned at him triumphantly.

"I must say that such tactics are not entirely familiar to me." He moved to sit back on his rear end and put his hands behind it to lean on.

"I'm only small. Gotta use what works for me." She kept up her grin and he smiled back. Although she was sure that he could have countered her, she got the feeling that he wanted to see what she was going to do.

"Well, it seems you will have to teach me a few things."

She rolled her eyes and stood up then walked over to him and extended her arm out to him. He took it and she helped him up even though he didn't need it. Once they both took another breath, they fought again. Itachi was blindingly fast, and even without his Sharingan he was more than capable of perceiving exactly what she planned to do almost every time. Even if it was slightly unexpected, his brain seemed to form counter attack options instantly and she would have complained about him being so smart if she wasn't at risk of serious injury if she dropped her guard. She knew she wouldn't be able to use the same takedown as she had earlier, but she surprised herself by being able to almost catch him in a different one later, although he countered her before she could complete the move.

Itachi had kept his distance just enough to ensure he had the upper hand of their sparring matches, and continued denying any chance for Hitori to change it up and get in close. Since he was taller than her, he had a fairly easy time keeping her within a range that suited him, but not her. She was almost mystified by his prowess, and she knew that a shinobi like him was so rare, that she was lucky to have even crossed paths with him, let alone befriend him.

After he exploited a gap she didn't even realise existed, he pinned her down on her stomach, and she was unable to get out of his hold to fight back. She gave up and sighed heavily, and stayed on the ground after he let her go. From her left, she heard him huff at her laziness and stepped so that she could see him.

"Had enough?" he asked softly, with a barely hidden look of amusement on his face.

"Ughhh." she groaned in reply and saw the brief smile on his face.

Politely, he extended his arm out to her, and she rolled onto her back and took it. He was much stronger than she expected, and almost lost her footing. Calmly as ever, his other hand came to her waist and steadied her before she looked up at him, and tried not to be awkward.

"Thank you. And thank you for training with me. I'll be sure not to wear perfume next time." she scrunched her nose up but the amusement in his eyes made her smile, despite her embarrassment.

Abruptly, he seemed to notice that he had not let her go yet, and pulled his hands back swiftly. She felt another presence nearing them and recognised it almost immediately.

"You knew I wouldn't last too long, didn't you?" she narrowed her eyes at him as he just stared back innocently as he could and shrugged as Kakashi's mop of silver hair came into view.

"Yo." Kakashi greeted them both, hiding the strange look he gave Hitori rather well.

"Have fun boys. I'll leave my medical supplies so use them if you need them." she picked up her weapon holsters and headed off, feeling a little odd.

She didn't pay attention to them saying goodbye, and grabbed some lunch on her way back home. It was simple, just a noodle stir fry, but it was enough to fill her up. Once she had finished eating, she jumped into the shower, and washed herself as best she could. Her muscles were sore and she had a few bruises and scrapes from her sparring sessions with Itachi. While she stood under the torrent of hot water, she sent waves of healing chakra through her body to rid herself of any strains, knots and other injuries. With a heavy sigh, she decided to sit down to wash her hair, not bothered to stay standing.

It wasn't that she wasn't fit. For a shinobi, she was doing fine. Being in ANBU had probably helped her to get into better shape than she had ever been in her life. Obviously, Itachi was just on another level to such a point that she wasn't even able to see the top of the pedestal which he stood upon. She wouldn't even be able to climb high enough to get her fingers on the edge of it. So she simply decided that she would try her best and continue training with Itachi, and hoped that she would get better eventually. Maybe in ten years he wouldn't wipe the floor with her after only a few seconds of battle. She might last more than a minute.

Once she was satisfied with her cleanliness, she got out of the shower and dried herself off, wrapping her towel around her body, and another around her hair. She had no idea how long she had been in there, but it was still so warm that she didn't even bother putting pyjamas on. Instead she sat down on her couch with a book for a while she let her hair dry naturally. Her book was a novel about a man and woman in opposing sides of a war who fell in love, and it was great so far.

So intriguing, that she didn't even notice Itachi's presence until he flared his chakra at her front door. It had a strange feeling to it, and she flared hers to allow him entry. She had forgotten all about being in only a towel until he strolled in and immediately spun back around to put his back to her dramatically. She made a sound asking him what was wrong, and he replied by clearing his throat and pointing downward to one side so she could see. Looking down at herself, she realised and strolled toward her bedroom to put something on.

She wasn't entirely sure why he was here anyway, since it was his day off. Since he had obviously finished training with Kakashi, shouldn't he be doing something more interesting, like reading a book on the rooftop? Regardless, he was here and she pulled on a pair of underwear, track pants that she was fairly certain belonged to Haruko at some stage in their lifespan, and a black singlet.

After she emerged, he was lifting up his shirt and was inspecting a large gash on his stomach. Hitori rolled her eyes dramatically and figured that he hadn't bothered using the medical supplies she left. It was the entire reason that she left them because she knew Kakashi wouldn't go get treated at the least. Itachi was a little better in that regard so she would give him credit for that. The backpack was directly next to him on the floor, but he was obviously here to get patched up. It made sense now.

"Sit down on the barstool. Any other injuries?" She gestured to the seat at her counter and he moved to sit down and shook his head.

Once he sat down, he didn't wince at all when she began cleaning the wound with some antiseptic from her backpack. It wasn't that the wound desperately needed it, but since they weren't in the field, it was better to be thorough. He would need stitches or another medic to heal him if she wasn't there, but he was lucky since she lived right next door. After she was done cleaning it, she moved his hand aside and used her own to keep his shirt up.

When her skin grazed his lightly as she healed him, she abruptly became aware that they were alone, in her apartment, with his shirt revealing almost his entire torso. Said torso was impressive to say the least. All signs of his being near death months ago were gone, and he was in phenomenal shape. She presumed that he was the sort of person to do push ups to alleviate boredom. He was lean, but not wiry, and his build suited his ability to fight at multiple ranges with no problems. She already knew first hand that he was incredibly strong, but brilliantly fast.

He said something, but she was too busy spacing out to hear it and looked up at him.

"I'm sorry, what?" she asked confusedly, hoping that he hadn't caught her perving on him.

"I asked if something was wrong?" he had an expectant look on his face, but she wasn't quite sure why. It didn't seem like he had noticed her lingering gaze that was not at all clinical.

"Uh, no. I was just thinking that it's good to see you so healthy after knocking on death's door only a few months ago." she smiled up at him and tried to change the subject.

She let his shirt fall since she was finished healing him and stepped back to give him room to stand. He shuffled around a little bit, seeing how he felt after he had been healed. Once he seemed satisfied that everything was in order, he gave her one of his tiny smiles.

"Thank you, Hitori."

It was the first time that he had called her by her first name without her pestering for him to do it. She beamed at him and chuckled softly, knowing that she had won this battle. It had taken her ages, but she had finally won. He seemed to realise what happened and sighed softly.

"Finally you called me by my name without me complaining about it."

Itachi's knowing gaze made her smile more and she laughed softly at him. He was a good sport and allowed her to indulge in her victory a little. She appreciated his calm and relaxed demeanour, and it was nice to finally have someone aside from Sakura and Haruko, who were both constantly busy, to talk with. It was silly to think so, but she could mistake them for friends in this moment. Her smile faltered briefly as she looked at the backpack on the floor, and if he noticed her expression change, he didn't comment on it.

"Thank you again. I'll leave you to rest." he gave her a quick nod and she waved before he turned and left.

After he shut the door behind him, she finally let go of the breath she had been holding and half shuffled, half stumbled over to her couch where she flopped down unceremoniously. Although she was a medic, and had seen plenty of shinobi scantily clad, seeing him lifting his shirt up in her own house was a bit different. The last time that a male was minimally dressed in her apartment was when she used to mess around with Haruko when they first met. That was a long time ago, and whatever sexual tension there used to be was so non-existent that it was long forgotten. They had decided to be friends sometime through that several month period, since they just didn't really feel the spark enough to be in a relationship or continue their bedroom antics. He was an attractive enough guy, but they were just better as friends, and had both broached the subject at the same time, which worked well, since they both agreed. Now they were able to be good friends and hadn't even brought up their past in a few years.

So even though she hadn't been with a guy in a while, she hadn't really had the thought until today. And of course it just had to be Uchiha Itachi who prompted it. The guy with self-control that even the most disciplined monks would envy. Now she knew that every time she saw him for the next few days, she would think of him with his shirt up.

With a sigh, she couldn't deny that she wasn't going to enjoy the image…


	14. Friends

**Chapter 14 - Friends**

Hitori and Sakura were currently chatting while they decided what they wanted to eat for lunch. It was rare, but occasionally they had a chance to get together and train and they usually got something to eat afterwards. They were exhausted from their efforts and Hitori was fairly certain that Sakura's chakra control was one of the most lethal abilities she had ever seen. She had almost lost a limb or her head on more than one occasion and it was a little humiliating to be on the defense so much against someone who was younger than her. Obviously being trained by a Sannin had its perks, so it didn't bother her. Actually she was really quite proud of her friend.

For a lack of decisiveness, they both chose the house special and their waiter disappeared out of their line of sight after jotting down their order.

"So how is the hospital going? Any results yet on your current research project?" Hitori asked with genuine interest, something that always gave her and Sakura a topic of conversation. Although Hitori was terrible with everything except stopping someone from bleeding out on the battlefield, she had a lot of respect for the work that Sakura did behind the scenes. Since she was working on a concoction to help assist with emergency wound treatment, she was even more interested. If Sakura could get it working successfully, it would make field medics jobs much easier.

"Getting there. It's just so slow and it's frustrating me. I'm trying to find a way to develop the medicine so that it's fast acting, but I'm not getting the result I want just yet. The wound clotting isn't effect enough, and it takes far too long to make. So I either need to make it simpler, or change the ingredients and see how I go." Sakura broke her disposable chopsticks apart and nibbled on the ends thoughtfully.

"Even though I have barely any ability and knowledge with that stuff, I am more than happy to offer my free time to help in anyway I can." Hitori copied her and broke her chopsticks too, balancing them on her hand and she rested her head on her other hand, making her cheek squish against her palm.

"Thank you. I'll have to take you up on that sometime, so don't regret it." Sakura said with her chopsticks pointed at her friend's face.

They shared a laugh together until their drinks arrived. They had both ordered a fruit based drink, and they were brightly coloured, in tall, ornate glasses with cute little umbrellas and pieces of fruit on the side.

"So how is your new friend going?" Sakura asked with an obviously cheeky expression on her face while Hitori blinked slowly as she tried to figure out what she was talking about.

"What? What new friend?" Hitori frowned, still confused.

"Itachi." Sakura's expression made it seem like it was clear who she was referring to.

"I don't really know if he is my friend, per say. But he seems fine." she ended up shrugging out of lack of not knowing what else to do or say.

"Why wouldn't he be your friend?"

They stopped for a moment as the waiter brought over their food, and Hitori shovelled a mouthful in her face so that she had some more time to consider her answer.

"Because I doubt he would consider us friends just because we work together and live across the hall from one another." she said with her mouth half full, staring pointedly at her plate.

"But I've seen you guys out getting lunch before, not to mention him keeping an eye on you in the hospital before." Sakura's reply was even, and well-considered, Hitori had to admit, but that didn't necessarily make them friends.

"I don't really think we are  _friends_  though. We barely know anything about each other, aside from what's in our files. For example, I know that you don't like spicy foods, and that you love trivia nights at Hakaze's pub. I know that Itachi likes tea and that's only because I watched him drink it, not because he told me in a personal and meaningful conversation." she had stopped eating now, and just moved her food around with her chopsticks.

"Yeah, but not all friendships are based on knowing that sort of thing about each other but more about  _who_  they are. Sometimes you are kindred spirits, and you share the same morals, values or even a similar sense of humour can do it. I don't know your favourite food, but I do know that you are a shinobi who would happily sacrifice herself for her friends and her village because you are a caring person, who loves deeply, despite the fact you would never admit it." Sakura held Hitori's gaze evenly when she mock glared at her. "It's nice that you guys have found a friend in one another since I know you struggle with that sort of stuff. Itachi isn't exactly a social person either." Sakura pointed at her with her chopsticks again, and narrowed her eyes when Hitori's head lolled backwards and she rolled her eyes.

"Whatever you reckon. I'll ask him if he thinks we are friends, and I reckon that if ever I was to see Uchiha Itachi laugh at anything, it will be at that question." Hitori pointed her chopsticks right back at her pink-haired friend, who smirked at the notion.

After they finished eating, Hitori paid for them, although Sakura continued to try pushing money at her even as they walked towards her apartment building, which was on the way to Sakura's destination; the hospital. They parted ways with a brief hug, which didn't make Hitori uncomfortable like the first time Sakura had hugged her. In fact, a hug from Sakura was all she needed to feel better after a bad day and sometimes Hitori was the one to initiate it.

She watched Sakura continue towards the hospital to keep going with her research and she headed inside her building, casually making her way up the stairs to her apartment. It was only a few hours until sunset, since her and Sakura had trained most of the morning and had a late lunch, so she decided to make a pot of tea and take it up to the rooftop to read her book then watch the sun go down.

After the kettle whistled obnoxiously, signalling that it's task was complete, she took it off the burner and poured it into her teapot. She placed it on a small serving tray along with her cup, grabbed a few biscuits and her book before heading to the rooftop. No one ever really came up here, which was nice and it gave her a little bit of extra space and some manner of privacy aside from her small apartment, as well as some fresh air and sunlight. Living in Fire Country meant that she had the privilege of sitting outside until after dark because it was such a warm climate without being too humid.

There was an old lounge and coffee table that had been up here since before she moved in, and it was only kept under cover by a small tin construct that kept the setting out of the rain. Placing her tray down on the table, she took a seat after dusting off the cushion and poured herself some tea before she sat back with her book, sipping her hot drink.

She didn't hear the footfalls, but sensed the suppressed chakra approaching from behind her, but continued reading. He was a quiet person, and she would be surprised if he started talking to her first, so instead she just stayed silent knowing that if he was here for a particular reason, he would speak up eventually. If he wasn't, he probably just wanted to get some fresh air too, so she would leave him in peace to do so.

"Good afternoon." he spoke in his deep, soft voice as he stood next to the coffee table.

"Good afternoon." she replied and bowed her head respectfully. Even though they were at home, he was still her commanding officer.

"May I join you?" if she didn't know better, she would have thought his question sounded a little hesitant.

"Of course." she gestured to the empty seat next to her with a cheery smile.

She watched him carefully as he sat down on the creaky lounge, trying to figure out if he was here for business or pleasure. When he looked out at the scenery before them and stayed silent, she gathered that it wasn't business. If it was related to a mission or anything to do with ANBU, he would have told her straight away, and he definitely wouldn't have sat down.

"If I had known you would come up, I would have brought an extra teacup for you." she said with an amused huff to break the silence, that wasn't exactly awkward, but just slightly unexpected.

His brief glance toward her and nose exhale told her that her attempt to break the ice wasn't entirely lost on him, and she smiled a little before she looked back at her book. Instead of reading it however, she read the same sentence roughly twelve times before realising that she wasn't immersed in it anymore. She didn't put it down however, as it would ensure that she didn't feel so strange sitting in silence with her Commander next to her.

"It is nice up here." she was pleased that he had decided to say something and she relaxed a bit more.

"Mmm, it really is. The lock has been broken since before I moved in here, and I think I'm the only one who comes up here, and I have no interest in letting the building owner know. If they fixed it, I would only pick the lock anyway." she shrugged nonchalantly with a smirk on her face.

"I believe I would do the same thing. The sunset would be rather stunning from here, I imagine." his randomly profound reply made her smirk turn into a genuine smile.

"It really is." she looked over to where the sky was beginning to darken. "Shall I brew another pot of tea for us?" her question seemed to surprise him, but his composure was impressive.

"I would appreciate that. Thank you." he nodded slowly in confirmation, and the corner of his mouth turned marginally upwards.

"Alright. I'll be back in a minute then."

She picked up the tray after placing the pot and her cup onto it, deftly balancing it on one hand as she opened the rooftop door, and making her way down the stairs to her apartment. The chakra seal didn't give her pause and once she was done, she went back the way she came, with another cup on her tray this time.

His politeness continued to surprise her when he poured her cup and handed it to her carefully before pouring one for himself. She thanked him with a smile, and sighed contently after she took a sip. Recalling her earlier conversation with Sakura, she figured that now was a good a time as any to ask her strange question.

"Itachi…are we...friends?" she couldn't quite hide the curiosity in her voice.

"Friends?" his eyes were clearly widened at her question, and the mental image she had in her mind of him laughing disappeared.

"Mmm. Sakura was commenting before on how she thought it was nice that we are hanging out. She said that she was glad to see us both find a friend in one another." Hitori kept her words light, but his expression suggested that he saw right through her as he blinked slowly. "Uhh, I suppose I just wanted to see what your take on it was?"

"If we are...friends?" he asked, choosing his words carefully.

"Mmm." she replied with a single nod, beginning to regret bringing this up.

He broke their eye contact and stared toward the setting sun and his expression changed minutely every few seconds, a raised eyebrow, slight curving of his lips. Again, the silence wasn't awkward, just odd as she watched him figure out his answer much slower than she would have liked. But she was glad he was at least putting some thought into it, rather than trying to simply placate her.

"I suppose we are." He huffed softly, but it seemed to be from pleasant surprise rather than amusement.

Hitori smiled and looked ahead, shuffling her weight in her seat. His response was unexpected, but the strangest part was how happy it made her to hear him say that. She was friends with Sakura, but she doubted that they would be such close friends if they hadn't worked together in the hospital before. Haruko was the same, since he had lived in her building before she had moved to this one and they had been on several missions together. Itachi was different though. She found that she was wanting to seek out his company sometimes, and he obviously didn't mind doing the same with her since he had come up here to sit with her. His gaze was on her but she didn't look his way until he spoke.

"Does that make you happy? That we are friends?" he had an eyebrow raised in curiosity and there was a hint of mirth in his eyes.

She laughed, knowing that she had been busted and grinned.

"Yeah. I never had friends growing up, and only met Sakura through our work at the hospital and Haruko through living in the same building and doing missions together. I've never really made a friend like I have with you before. I don't usually seek out the company of other people, but I even enjoy just sitting in silence with you."

He nodded in understanding, the corner of his mouth turning upward in his version of a smile once more.

"Does it...make you happy?" She asked him nervously, chewing her lip while she waited for his answer.

His gaze turned inward as he considered her question before he nodded quietly and actually smiled.

"It does, yes. I can't say I've had many friends in my lifetime."

It was the sweetest smile she had ever seen in her life, and if she wasn't sitting right next to him, she wouldn't have seen it. But it was a smile nonetheless. She was surprised and stared for a moment, then she beamed at him, grinning madly. If she could make Uchiha Itachi smile about them being friends, she must be doing alright. She guessed that even though his changes in expression were small, they meant a lot.

They kept eye contact for a moment, before Hitori looked down to her rapidly cooling cup of tea in her hands, remembering it's presence abruptly. Itachi did the same and they finished the pot as the sun went down, the sky mixing pinks, oranges and blues together to create a beautiful scene. Though they were mostly silent until it went dark, the odd feeling was completely gone.

Hitori took her leave first, and thanked him for his company. When she said 'Goodnight, friend' to him, he surprised her yet again by saying it back to her with amusement clear on his face. She laughed softly with a cheerful smile and bowed before heading through the rooftop door with her things.

Itachi was left to sit in the cool night breeze and he couldn't help but smile to himself when he recalled her delighted expression when he said that he considered her his friend. When he thought about it, he supposed that she was right in saying that they had become friends and sought out each other's company for purposes aside from work. He certainly hadn't talked to anyone else for hours while they did paperwork. The other times he had gone through a stack with someone else helping him, he had concentrated on the task at hand and practically forgotten that they were sitting across from him. Not to mention that he had felt her chakra up here and decided to join her earlier.

They really were friends, and that made him happier than he anticipated…

* * *

Itachi was making his way towards the hospital for his appointment with Haruno Sakura. They had been seeing each other once a week to work on his eyes, trying to prevent both himself, Kakashi, and presumably Sasuke - when he came back - from going completely blind. His vision had suffered for many years unchecked, and he had used the Sharingan to compensate, but that had only made things much worse. Now he was getting better, but it was expected that most of the damage was irreparable. Keeping up with his treatment was the best way to ensure that he staved it off for as long as possible. He would probably go blind eventually, and he would never have 20/20 vision again, but this was better than nothing.

Also there was the situation with his illness. He wasn't quite sure when he had contracted it, or even what it was, but he had tried his best to keep himself alive through whatever means he could over the last few years. Even though he had been in Akatsuki, they did not have access to medical facilities like this. He had received medicine from traditional doctors, but never been examined by a medic ninja until Team Seven stumbled across him. Tsunade had personally checked him over after he was cleared to stay in Konoha. Sakura must have told her about her healing session with him when they found him and wanted her teacher to examine him as well.

Before he turned into the main street there was a hustling group of ANBU who were heading toward the hospital as well. One of them was rather small and carrying someone on their back. He recognised Hitori from her braid that fell over her back, swishing side to side with her quick pace. Something had gone wrong while they were on their mission. It was good that there was only one of them that was severely incapacitated, but he was concerned nonetheless.

After he entered through the double doors, it seemed Sakura had been waiting at the front desk for him and was now directing a few of the nurses to triage Hitori's cell. They took the most severe into the operating room straight away and the other two were looked after but Hitori began to sway on her feet. He couldn't reach her fast enough as she fell with a heavy thud onto the tiled floor without any resistance. Her mask seemed to take the brunt of the impact from her head from the angle she landed on, and it snapped clean in half from the force.

Sakura gave him a nod to let him know she had seen him, and mouthed an apology while she grabbed a medic to look after Hitori. Itachi was right next to her and lifted her up, waiting quietly with her in his arms as they brought a gurney over for her to be laid down on. She was wheeled away seconds later and he noticed that there was a large amount of blood smeared on his arms and shirt. He knew that Hitori could stop bleeding almost immediately, and wondered whether it might have been the blood of her comrade, or someone else's.

The pink haired medic must have noticed his worry and she patted his shoulder twice in an attempt to placate him. They walked silently together to her office and she opened the door, gesturing for him to head inside. She handed him a few pieces of paper towel to wipe the blood off with. His shirt would have to stay that way until he got home. He waited for her to get around her desk before he sat down, being ever so polite as he was always taught to do.

"So, any pain, discomfort or coughing fits since I saw you last?" She said as she leafed through his medical file, creating a new section for today's appointment. Her notes were extensive and his file had become almost an inch thick since they had started these visits roughly four months ago when he got back.

He shook his head.

"Any headaches or migraines?" Shook his head again. "Okay, how is the rest of your body feeling? Keeping food down okay?" He nodded. "Keeping hydrated?" He nodded again. "Regular trips to the bathroom?" He nodded once more.

Itachi sat quietly as she scribbled a few things down then stepped out from behind her desk and sat on the chair next to him. She placed her first two fingers of her hands against his temples and closed her eyes. The strange tingle of her chakra flowed through his body and he felt it stop in certain places that she checked out more thoroughly. She finished behind his eyes, and asked him a few more simple questions.

Once she was finished, she made more notes again and sighed a few times to herself. She stopped writing and looked up at him with a smile.

"I'm glad we seem to be able to treat your symptoms for both your illness and Sharingan use. At least you are more comfortable in your daily life now." She half asked, half stated and let him reply.

"I am, yes."

"Great. You have been making progress and I think we can at least keep your eyes the way they are now. Your illness is much harder to crack, but a lot of the damage was reversed. We may not be able to cure you completely, but we can just heal the damage and treat your symptoms as best we can." She was methodical and mechanical and he knew that was why she suited being a medic so much.

"Anything else to discuss?" He shook his head but changed his mind a second later.

"Could you see how severe Hitori's injuries are? The rest of her group too, if you would be so kind." Itachi asked in his normal soft voice, and Sakura's strange expression told him that she had seen through him straight away.

"Of course. Just hang out in the waiting room and I'll let you know in a few minutes."

They headed back the way they came, and Itachi took a seat in the waiting area while Sakura disappeared into the emergency care room where Hitori and her cell would be getting treated. It seemed much longer than it probably was until Sakura finally emerged but her expression seemed like it wasn't all bad news.

"So the guy she was carrying had his throat slit, but it wasn't bad enough that Hitori couldn't stop the bleeding and keep him alive until they got back here. She treated it already but he had been poisoned as well. One that stops your blood from clotting. I think that was what all the blood was from." Sakura shifted her weight to her other foot. "The other two are okay, just a few cuts and scrapes. Hitori is probably in the best shape overall, just exhausted and depleted chakra. She's fine other than that." The medic smiled at him as he took in the information.

"Thank you, Sakura."

Itachi nodded respectfully and she took her leave, heading back to help with the patients treatments. He headed back through the hospital doors, but not before he took a long look at the doorway to the intensive care ward.

* * *

Hitori woke abruptly when her door opened and it took her a second to remember that she was in the hospital. She had been admitted due to exhaustion and to be observed after being poisoned. Basically, Swamp was a terrible place and she was cranky that Itachi had sent her there. She knew that he never did anything without good reason, but it was still a shitty mission.

One of the daytime nurses came to check on her and they asked her a few questions, making notes on her chart as she answered them. She didn't recognise this nurse, but it was rare that Hitori was here so early in the morning. She gathered from the amount of light in her room that the sun had only been up for an hour or so.

After the nurse left with a polite bow, considering that Hitori was technically her superior, someone else appeared in the doorway minutes later. Sakura's pink hair was the first thing she noticed and the younger woman smiled at her when she came in.

"How's it going? Feeling okay?" Sakura asked in a half-friendly, half-professional tone.

"I'm okay. The poison is completely gone now so I'm feeling better overall." She replied with a smile. "The others doing okay?"

"Yeah, they're fine. You did a good job, as always." Sakura spoke as she checked her over, hands glowing green. "You'll definitely have to tell me how you broke down the poison though. Swamp's poisons are monumentally difficult." she continued with a silent groan that Hitori understood all too well.

"Mmm, don't I know it. Must be why the Commander keeps sending me there." she groaned and scrunched her nose up to show her frustration and Sakura just laughed.

"Looks like you're all good. Just get some rest. I'll get your discharge papers ready so just see me to sign before you go."

The younger woman disappeared out the door, taking Hitori's chart with her. She still felt tired, but that was perfectly normal. Swamp was at least a day's travel away and then there was the actual mission itself, which had gone awry. They had been assigned to a kidnapping exchange, and their Captain had decided that halfway through the exchange itself, they were going to appear from the shadows and capture the culprits. Of course, this didn't work as planned, just as she suspected, and they ended up chasing them through the nastiest parts of the country for the next half a day until they got them all.

Hitori got dressed as she grumbled to herself about the whole thing, and hoped that whoever captained the mission wouldn't be on her team for a good while. It had created thrice the amount of work she could handle without much trouble, hence why she was so exhausted now. Unfortunately part of being in ANBU meant that you can't speak up unless you are a respected veteran, and she was not.

After signing the necessary paperwork and saying goodbye to Sakura, she headed straight home after grabbing some take away from the noodle hut near her house. As quickly as she could without choking, she stuffed her face, being much too tired to take her time and got straight in the shower once she was done. Leaving a pile of clothes on the floor and her weapons in the kitchen was the least of her worries at the moment, and before she finished showering, she heard her front door creak open and close softly.

"That you, Itachi?" she yelled out as she washed the last of the conditioner from her hair, not enjoying how the water coming from her was tinted with blood.

Instead of answering like a normal person, he flared his chakra for the briefest of seconds. She rolled her eyes at him, and shook her head. If he ever actually spoke louder than a whisper, she would probably die of shock on the spot. Once she was finished, and sufficiently pleased with the lack of blood in her hair, she turned off the water and dried herself off. She couldn't hear anything from outside the bathroom, so she assumed that Itachi was just sitting down, waiting patiently. An image of him resting his forearms on her small table, fingers linked together, appeared in her mind, and she huffed faintly.

As she headed through towards her bedroom to change, she kept her towel around her and almost lost it when she saw her Commander sitting in the exact position she had imagined.

"I'll just be a minute." she called to him cheerily and ensured her towel stayed put as she dashed through. "You can make some tea, if you like." she gestured to the kitchen just before she closed the door, though she knew he wouldn't look anyway.

Quickly, she dressed in her casual clothes, since she was going to bed as soon as possible. She heard him shuffling around the kitchen, preparing the tea for them, and she realised abruptly that she probably looked like shit from lack of sleep. Running her brush through her long hair, she immediately hated how boring it looked and messed it up slightly. Changing her mind, she shook her head vigorously and wondered why the hell she cared how she looked in front of her Commander. Not that he was utterly gorgeous or anything.

She headed back out as he was pouring hot water into the teapot and took a seat while he brought it back over to the small table. He had already grabbed out two cups for them, and they were quiet for a minute as she tilted her head from side to side, using up time while the tea was brewing. After enough time had passed, Itachi poured them a cup each and thanked him with a nod before she sipped it carefully.

"I'm sure I'll read it in the report, but what went wrong on the mission?" Itachi asked quietly before picking up his cup.

"The decision was to intercept the exchange to capture the culprits, instead of tracking them after the exchange was made. They were expecting it and we had to chase them for almost a full day to get them all. Simply an error made in planning. Something that should not have happened, but it's too late now." she rolled her eyes as she stared into the amber liquid.

"What would you have chosen?"

"It's obvious they would have expected to be interrupted during the exchange. They could have killed the hostages. Why not just track them after? They might have led us to more of their group. The only reason the choice was made to go halfway through is because they were in one place. But as I said, they were expecting it." she half shrugged and Itachi nodded, taking in her explanation.

"I suspect you would be a good Captain, Hitori." he replied after a moment of quiet thought.

"Pfft." she was glad she didn't have a mouthful of hot tea when he said that. "Yeah...have you had a psychological check recently?"

"I am quite serious. Although you never give yourself enough credit, you would be capable in such a role, given the right backup." Itachi elaborated and simply shrugged when she raised a skeptical eyebrow at him in reply.

"Anyway. I am tired. I'm going to bed. Feel free to finish the tea by yourself. You don't need to do the dishes either." she referred to a previous time when he had washed up the teapot and their cups like the polite dear that he was.

Hitori stood up and gave him a quick nod, and he returned it with one of his small smiles. They were very sweet and she had come to appreciate the small amount of expression changes that he made around her. It was infrequent, but he had become more comfortable, and they appeared more often. She had learnt that he was brilliant at keeping his face blank, but as he had relaxed more, his eyes gave him away.

Closing her door behind her, she didn't hear him move from his seat until she had finally warmed up under the covers. And of course, he washed the dishes before he left...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all of the kudos and comments.  
> I've never had such a response for any of my other fanfics, and I am awed at how well received it's been so far.
> 
> Thank you all!


	15. Concealed Tears

**Chapter 15 - Concealed Tears**

Considering they were in Fire Country in the middle of summer, it was a cool day. As Itachi strolled through the streets of Konoha, he was lost in thought about many things, one of them being when Hitori was going to arrive back from her most recent mission. Why he was thinking about her, he didn't quite know, but her face was in his mind regardless. As he passed a small side street, he heard many children yelling out 'Aunty!' and stopped to look.

Standing in amongst a group of kids all grabbing at her pants legs and her sleeves, was Sokkenai Hitori herself. Just the woman he was thinking of. A shadow of a smile came across his face as she knelt down and hugged each and every child, calling them by their name and asking how they were. She had a backpack slung over one shoulder and struggled to keep it there while she greeted everybody. He was confused as to why she was there and crept closer so he could figure out what was going on. He had read in her file that she had grown up in the orphanage, so he suspected she was visiting the place she grew up in. Clearly she came here often since she knew everyone so well.

Once he was close enough, he listened in silently to satiate his curiosity. She was still talking to all the kids and he heard the voices of the people who ran the orphanage greet her as well. He heard many little footsteps and watched as they followed her inside. After the door shut behind them, he switched to using his dojutsu to figure out what was happening. Red swirled through his dark eyes and the tomoe spun as they focused on their target.

Subtly, she handed one of the orphanage workers an envelope and the older woman's jaw dropped as she gently took it in her wrinkled hands. From the look of it, Hitori had given her money and suddenly many things fell into place. Why she didn't decorate her place very much or have anything expensive in her apartment. Why he had seen piles of kids drawings on her bookshelf. They must have been given to her by these children when she visited them.

After the older woman bowed, Hitori placed her hands on her shoulders and smiled. She said something that Itachi presumed had the effect of 'You're welcome' and walked back over to where she had put her pack down. The children were sitting around it, waiting patiently and Hitori sat with them and started pulling out what looked like small balls. She began juggling them surprisingly well and the children cheered and clapped her on. Following her demonstration, she gave each child some of the balls and showed them the beginner steps to learn the skill.

When they were sufficiently distracted, she nodded to the ladies who ran the orphanage and snuck out the front door. Slinging her pack over one shoulder, he stared at her from his hiding place across the street and watched her inhale and exhale with a strangely melancholic expression on her face. The corners of her mouth were down turned, dark circles under her eyes that were not their usual silver-grey but more of a washed out stone. Her shoulders were slumped forward as she stared at the ground for a minute. If he wasn't looking with his Sharingan, he would have missed the slight narrowing of her eyes for a brief second. She might have picked up on his presence, since he wasn't exactly doing much to hide it.

She adjusted her hair and took another breath before she began walking, heading toward the marketplace. He followed her from a distance, just silently taking in her presence from afar and watching her as she got a few things. It was mostly just fresh produce, since she would be back in town for a few days now that she had returned from her mission. Guessing that the large envelope of money had been her mission payment, he hoped that she still had enough to feed herself, despite the nobility of her donation. The last thing she got was two bunches of flowers, and he found this strange since he had never seen her with flowers in her apartment.

After she left, she didn't head home like he expected. Instead she went to the back corner of Konoha where the cemetery was. She walked through slowly, and he eyed her sadly, knowing that she was here for a somber reason. It seemed like she knew the way to the graves she was visiting instinctively and her eyes were on the ground as she walked. Once she reached the correct spot, she kneeled in front of one grave, dropped her backpack down and placed flowers on the grass in front of her. Quietly, she bowed her head and he could see her mouth moving as she spoke to the one she was visiting.

When she finished a few minutes later, she got up slowly and bowed low. He watched as she strolled over to the monument that gave honour and thanks to all of the shinobi, named and unnamed who died in the line of battle. She placed her other flowers down and bowed low again, taking a deep breath before she stood back up to her full height.

He was too busy watching her to react when she turned to face him, looking him straight in the eye. From her expression, she knew that she was being watched, just not by who. Her eyes softened and she gave him a sad smile. Since she wasn't angry, he took this as permission for him to approach her, and he found himself walking toward her without thinking about it.

"I must say I wasn't expecting to see you here, Commander." She spoke in a sturdy voice that purposely did not show the sadness she was feeling. Her body language that he had picked up through using his Sharingan betrayed her.

"I...did not mean to intrude." He said for a lack of anything better to say.

"It's fine. It's a nice view, so enjoy it for a bit at least." She gestured to the ground next to her after she plopped down with a thud.

He gave her a single nod and sat down next to her, only a foot away. He could smell the fragrance from the flowers still upon her and he could see the dark circles under her eyes. Although she was quiet, it seemed like she wanted to speak.

"Is there something you would like to talk about?"

Hitori opened her mouth to speak but changed her mind. She scoffed and shook her head, as if she was surprised that she was actually going to answer him. She turned to stare at him, frowning for a minute. For the moment she made eye contact with him, he got the feeling that she was looking for something in his gaze. Before he could confirm whether she had found it, she looked away again.

"Go ahead." He said as encouragingly as he could with his normally blank voice.

"Uhh...Today is the anniversary of my mothers death. She died 13 years ago on a mission. I was too young to remember much about her." Her eyes fell to her hands that were fiddling in her lap, more than likely a nervous gesture.

He watched her quietly and didn't respond, knowing that she would keep talking if she wished or stay silent if she was finished. Although he wasn't much good at comforting someone, he knew that listening was sometimes all you needed to feel better. He hoped that Hitori would feel better from him listening.

"I give myself today to mourn her and tomorrow I'll go back to my jolly self," she laughed sardonically to try and cover up her pain, but it only lasted a brief second before she sobered.

After she went quiet, he blinked slowly and nodded, as she pointedly avoided eye contact with him. After a pregnant silence, he tried to decide what to say, seeing her discomfort with the scenario. He couldn't tell whether she was uncomfortable with talking to him about her family or if she was just uncomfortable generally. Although he would understand, he did not want her to feel that she couldn't confide in him if she needed to. In the back of his mind, a voice offered that it was because they were friends.

"Have you eaten anything today? You have only just returned." He asked to help stave away the awkwardness.

She snorted in shock at his question and shook her head. Allowing a concerned note to appear in his voice, he continued speaking as he looked straight ahead.

"You should make sure that you eat something as soon as possible."

She finally looked at him, turning her head slowly with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes,  _Commander_. Should I ask if you are my mother reincarnate?" She said sarcastically and he could see the amused glint in her eye, telling him that she enjoyed that.

The young man, though composed well, couldn't help but crack a smirk at her joke. He felt her gaze on him and turned to look at her. She shuffled to face him completely and watched him for a moment before she spoke. He was glad to make her laugh in this moment, and even make a joke about mothers considering the situation.

"Why are you always so nice to me?"

Even for him, it was obvious to tell that he was confused and unsure of how to answer that.

"I'm about 99 percent sure that you don't treat all the ANBU operatives like this; reminding them to eat properly, and following them around town," she narrowed her eyes at him knowingly, telling him that she had figured it out early. "Certainly don't stay in their hospital room all night."

He wasn't sure how she knew that considering that she was out of the hospital as quickly as she could. Aside from that, she was mostly unconscious. There was only one person that would probably tell her about it. He blinked at her slowly and she read the silent question in his eyes.

"Sakura told me."

He didn't reply and thought about how things had been a bit different since they met and how he had been spending more time with her lately. They had been eating together occasionally, knuckling down on paperwork or how they had bought groceries together. He thought about how he had been feeling a bit less weight on his shoulders and that he felt better about himself than he had in a long time. The young man had been cursed with expectation after expectation from his family since he was very young, and although he lived up to those expectations, somehow he felt his achievements weren't enough. His father was abrasive, and rarely praised him. When he was merely four years old, Fugaku Uchiha had taken him to the battleground to look at the corpses left over from the Third Shinobi War in an attempt to make him mature faster. He did develop a grudging respect his father for trying his best to quell the rebellion inside the clan, as well as giving up his life to try and ensure Sasuke's future. Itachi had always felt like no matter what he tried to do, his wishes wouldn't be fulfilled. Whether it was trying to protect his younger brother from the fate he had made for himself, despite his best efforts, or saving the village he loved and sacrificed so much for. Even his going undercover and entering the dark world of Akatsuki hadn't saved either of those things he cherished so much from destruction. But the fact that Hitori appreciated what he had done for her, somehow made it a little less painful. It made him feel better that he could make her smile and laugh, after all the suffering he had both seen and caused.

"Don't answer if you don't have one. Figure it out and let me know later." her voice was softer than he had expected, but it still made him flinch almost imperceptibly as it dragged him from his thoughts. "I appreciate it nonetheless."

She casually waved her hand at him as if she was physically brushing it off, but he could tell that she was legitimately interested in why he was treating her differently. She didn't seem to mind or be upset by it, in fact she seemed to be glad that he was around. He was appreciative of her not being pushy, understanding that when he didn't speak, it wasn't always because he didn't have anything to say, but sometimes because he didn't  _want_ to say whatever was in his head. When they had spent several hours together in the ANBU HQ, they had managed to keep up a quiet conversation for the duration, and he hadn't actually been bored the entire time. If he stayed silent after something she said, she would change the subject or just continue talking to save him having to struggle to respond.

Hitori understood that he was socially awkward, being ostracised by the very place he loved so dearly for so many years, and that he would need a lot of time to build up trust in the people around him. She had been alone most of her life as well, with only minimal interaction with people when she did missions or helped out at the hospital and during her training, so it made it much simpler to get along with her because she wasn't pushy for answers that he didn't always have or want to give. He expected that she was similar in that regard.

His silence didn't seem to bother her as she retreated back into her thoughts while they sat together for another half an hour or so. When she was finished, she stood up slowly, groaning at the few cracks from her joints. Itachi stood up moments later, and watched her as she took a slow, controlled breath in and out before she gave him a slightly forced smile and turned away, heading back to the main section of the village.

Once they reached their building, she said goodbye in the form of a respectful nod and headed to her front door. He didn't move from his spot until she went inside, and when he shifted his weight to turn away, he could have sworn that he heard her crying…

* * *

It had been one week since Hitori's last mission and she was clear for active duty again. Unfortunately, even though she was a medic, she couldn't clear herself, but luckily Miho was kind enough to give into her pestering. Regardless, Itachi probably wouldn't give her a mission until next week, but she would head to HQ today and try her luck. It had been great to be home for the anniversary of her mother's death so that she could visit, but now she was getting stir crazy and couldn't get the loneliness out of her head. She also had something special to give Itachi, and hoped he would like it.

HQ was fairly quiet when she arrived and she chatted briefly with Ryuka, who had just returned from a mission and seemed to be in good health. She knocked on Itachi's office door, although it was already open, and he made a sound of permission before she walked in. She stepped up to his desk and waited silently as he finished the sentence he was writing and looked up. She hadn't seen much of him this week, and knew that he had been fairly busy. He would come home well after dark, and be gone fairly early in the morning, from what she could sense from the other side of the hall.

So much work seemed to be taking its toll and he looked tired. There were dark circles under his eyes and his cheeks were more gaunt than usual. Obviously his eating habits had suffered due to his busy schedule, but she didn't think it would be appropriate to start a medical lecture about looking after himself with a proper diet and rest while he had that look on his face.

"Yes?" he asked after she stayed quiet for another moment and it drew her from her trance.

"I was wondering if you had any missions that I would be able to go on, Commander?" she bowed her head politely before she spoke and kept her face as blank as she could.

"Have you been cleared for duty?" he looked back down to his paperwork and continued what he was doing earlier.

"Yes. Miho cleared me earlier this morning." Hitori stayed as still as she could while he rifled through his papers and sighed softly.

"Actually, I do have something you would be perfect for." he handed her the mission file, and began to explain. "Simple recon mission. Perfect with your abilities. Get the necessary intel and come back. This is not a mission to engage the enemy, merely a scouting mission."

She nodded and handed him back the file. He scribbled her name down and rubbed the bridge of his nose for a short moment before glanced at another sheet then scribbled down a few more names. Since there was now a full cell available with a medic, the mission would be processed and they would probably leave first thing tomorrow.

"Haruko will be Captaining the mission, and you will work with Koji and Izuri." He continued as he closed the file and looked back up at her with tired eyes.

"Thank you, Commander." She pulled the small package out of her pocket before she chickened out. "This is for you as well."

He stared with a blank expression as he took the package from her and inspected it. She stood awkwardly while he read it and figured out what it was. It was the tea she had promised to buy for him and she felt nervous while she waited for his reaction. Once he knew what it was, he looked up at her with a surprisingly vulnerable gaze. His expression wasn't as blank as it usually was either.

"I didn't forget. Happy birthday." She smiled sweetly before she bowed and headed straight out, intending to go home and pack. She was also far too nervous to hang around any longer.

She didn't stick around long enough to see Itachi thank the air where she had been standing moments earlier and smile…

* * *

" _Anything yet, Yami?"_ Haruko's voice sounded in her ear through the earpiece.

"Nothing yet. I'm out of range so I'll have to move to check the next building." She replied with a quiet voice, although she was completely concealed in shadow, she could still be heard.

Carefully, she stepped lightly and silently as she moved through the shadow that branched between the rooftop she was on and the building next to it. She leapt across the gap and landed without a sound and concentrated her jutsu, allowing her to inspect the building from the outside.

After roughly half an hour, they found the people they needed to listen in on. It was a simple mission that required them to find out when their next drug shipment was, and although it wasn't exactly ANBU level, they needed to be undiscovered to avoid messing anything up. It was entirely possible that the Hokage forwarded the mission onto ANBU because she didn't have anyone suitable to assign it to. Hitori's skill set worked well on these missions but she hadn't received one like this since she was accepted into the ANBU ranks.

She had no idea how long they were going to be there to get the information they needed, so she laid down on the rooftop out of sight so she could drop her jutsu and concentrate better. Hiding under an old tarp was perfect and she was out of the cool wind that only got colder as the hours dragged on. Haruko checked in every 10-15 minutes as they patrolled the perimeter secretly and kept an extra eye out for her.

The conversation began to go in the direction they needed to it to go, and Hitori began relaying the info straight through to Haruko. Unfortunately, the shipment was only in a few days so they would have to push all the way back to Konoha in one go without any stops to make it back in time. If they didn't, the team assigned to destroy the shipment would be late and they would have wasted their time. The team would be waiting on call in ANBU HQ as well for them to report back, so they couldn't waste a second.

Once they got out of the city and into the open forest, they went full pelt the entire way back to Konoha, which took roughly 7 hours. Hitori gave everyone a soldier pill at the halfway mark to allow them to keep going at full speed and they went straight to HQ and reported into the Commander, who sent out the on call team immediately.

Their cell rested for a while in the on call room and caught their breath before they parted ways and went home. When Hitori headed through her front door, scuffing her feet, she got straight in the shower to wash off the dirt and sweat from travelling almost a full day straight.

Roughly an hour after she had settled in for the evening, Itachi's chakra flared at her front door. She flared her own in reply, but didn't move from the couch. She was much too tired to move and he usually didn't care if she was exhausted from her missions. He seemed a little off though as he took small steps toward her and stood next to the lounge. Wondering what was going through his head, she sat up with a groan and patted the space next to her. Carefully, he sat down as lightly as she could until he noticed her staring at him blankly.

He seemed to have something to say so she waited quietly until he had sorted it out in his head.

"I wanted to thank you…" he stumbled over his words and she sat patiently for him to continue. "I'm not quite sure how to explain how appreciative I am." She didn't want to put him off, but she was struggling not to laugh. He just looked so vulnerable and adorable.

"There's no need to thank me. You've done plenty for me. It's about time I had a chance to repay you." Hitori smiled but he was still far too absorbed in what he was trying to say to notice.

"I don't know if you understand the depth of my gratitude. I haven't celebrated my birthday since I left Konoha. No one has been as kind to me as you have since I've returned and I am incredibly grateful to you." His eyes had been on his lap the whole time, but he finally looked up at her and Hitori thought her heart stopped at the sight of his expression.

His eyes were soft and kind, and he was smiling in a way that she had never seen before. Normally his smile was only a slight upward curve of his mouth, but now he was  _really smiling_. Although Hitori already had a bit of a crush on him, it was solidified when she saw him like this. He had never looked more handsome since she had known him. It made him look so much younger since although he was only two years her senior, most days it seemed like he was almost in his fifties. Now he actually looked like he was in his early 20's and the well hidden hint of sadness permanently in his eyes wasn't present.

"Thank you, Hitori." He smiled once more and she grinned, chuckling happily at seeing him like this.

He still seemed to be making a decision in his head and she didn't move as he inched closer to her. Her smile fell, but only because she wasn't sure what he was doing. Carefully, he pressed his lips to her cheek and she felt heat rise to them immediately. It was over as fast as it happened, and Hitori knew that her entire face was red as a tomato; she even felt her ears turn red too. He smirked cheekily as he noticed her blushing and it only made it worse. Her heart was thumping loudly in her chest to the point where she was concerned as a medic that it might explode within her.

She swallowed thickly and laughed at herself before he stood up, looking like he was going to leave. Hitori still hadn't regained normal brain function and stood up as well, supposing that she should walk him out at least.

"Thank you again." He repeated and she smiled shyly.

"You're welcome, Itachi." She shrugged for a lack of having anything else to do and acknowledged in the back of her mind, she probably looked like a lovesick school girl currently.

He looked at her for a moment before he smiled again and left her be. Once she was alone again, she knew that she definitely couldn't lie to herself anymore about crushing on the guy. She leant against her kitchen counter and sighed loudly.

This feeling wasn't going anywhere, anytime soon…


	16. Urgency

**Chapter 16 - Urgency**

Hitori shuffled her feet heavily as she came up the stairs to her apartment after returning from her mission. It had gone decently well, but they hadn't rested on the way back and she was exhausted. Her footfalls were audible due to her laziness as she climbed the four nightmarish flights. Once she reached the top and eyed her front door, she let out a whispered groan before she continued her shuffling. Before she reached it, she felt a strange ripple of chakra from Itachi's apartment.

Something was wrong.

It felt like he was injured and in pain from how it wavered and she made a beeline for his door. It was chakra sealed, but she blatantly ignored it and broke it to head inside. Instinctively, she kicked her shoes off and dropped her pack next to them before she called out to him.

"Uchiha? Are you alright?" she crept toward the bathroom door, and made sure she was loud enough for him to hear through the closed door. "Uchiha?" she called out again after he didn't respond.

After hearing a pained groan, she started getting nervous as she felt his chakra shiver with pain. Standing in front of the door, she had to decide whether to barge in or not. Obviously he needed help, but what if he was naked? He would tear her to shreds about it later, but after hearing another sound of pain, she opened the door to find him lying in the fetal position on the floor, clutching his head with white knuckles. Thankfully, he was fully dressed as well.

"Itachi!"

Politeness was ignored as she rushed over and dropped to her knees on the floor next to him. Her hands glowed green and she placed them on his side and looked at the way his face was contorted with pain. His eyes were shut tightly, and his jaw was clenched even more so. She concentrated on examining him, and focused her chakra up to his head, guessing that's where the pain was.

He had an epic level migraine, and no wonder he couldn't speak. It was horrible, and she began to work as best she could to ease the tension in his head. She recalled that she had painkillers and sedatives in her pack and he opened his eyes as she removed her hands and shuffled so that she could stand. Before she could Itachi's hand shot out and grabbed her thigh to stop her. His dark eyes burned into her own with sheer desperation and her heart melted for him.

"I'm just getting the supplies in my pack, okay?" she spoke as softly as she could, trying not to make it worse by yelling at him.

She took his eyes closing again as affirmation and zipped out to the doorway, and just dragged her whole pack with her, figuring it was better to be by his side while she got what she needed. Sitting cross legged next to him, she grabbed out a small, wooden cylinder and coaxed his hand away from his head so he could bite on it when the pain was at its worst. He accepted it without opening his eyes or barely moving at all, and she brushed some hair off his face before she rummaged through her pack for her painkillers. It was a strong one, that she only used for fairly severe injuries, but anything that could cripple Uchiha Itachi like this was pretty lethal.

Wasting no time, she pulled the cap off the syringe and took a hold of his arm. He was only in a blue shirt, and she pushed the needle into the vein on the inside of his elbow and pushed the syringe until it was empty. There was enough dosage in it to at least get him through the next 6 hours, since she wasn't sure when his migraine had started. He might have been here for 6 hours already, she had no idea.

Before the painkiller could kick in, he scrambled to his knees as best he could and vomited with his head in the toilet as Hitori prepared a sedative to allow him to sleep through it. She watched on with concern in her eyes as he heaved again, before flopping back down on the floor. Reaching for a towel from the rack, she rolled it up and carefully lifted his head for him to lay on it, and he hissed until he felt the much softer surface underneath his head. She grabbed another for him to wipe his mouth with as well.

His chakra began to waver less once the painkiller began to do its work, and although he was still in a lot of pain and discomfort, he cracked open one eye to look at her. They were dark as always, and conveyed his thanks since he didn't seem quite able to speak just yet. She smiled back at him and held up the syringe with the sedative in it.

"This will help you sleep." she whispered just loud enough for him to hear and nodded at her own words.

As best he could, he shook his head and she frowned at him full force. He shook his head again, slowly but clearer than the first time, and she continued her frown and watched him carefully.

"It's a small dose. It will give you a few hours reprieve from the pain and some much needed rest." she lectured softly, but she knew that her best way to win with him was to make a logical argument he couldn't retort against. "Your body must rest after such a turbulent event, and you won't feel any better after it goes away unless you rest."

The last few words were spoken more firmly, and when he closed his eyes and rolled his arm over, she gathered that as permission and injected the sedative into his vein. She was already going to get in trouble for barging into his apartment and his bathroom later, so she may as well just lengthen the list while she was at it and cop it all at once. At least she would have a few hours to prepare herself for his lecture when he fell asleep.

"Let's get you into bed, shall we? Sleeping on the tiled floor won't make you feel any better." she rose onto her knees, and got ready to help him up.

Leaning over, she pulled his arm over her shoulder and placed hers around his back to try and support as much of his weight as she could. He wasn't all too heavy, having a strong, but lean build, and they gradually rose to their feet together. Slowly, they plodded towards his bedroom, and he kept his eyes closed most of the time, only opening them to make sure she was going the right way. Once they reached his bedside, she asked him to stand on his own while she moved back the covers. As soon as she gave him the okay, he sat down heavily and began pulling his shirt off. Hitori looked away, staring pointedly at the doorknob to his wardrobe and waited until the shuffling from next to her had stopped.

When she looked back over, he was tucked under fairly well, and looked like he was as comfortable as he could be in this state. She went to his kitchen and grabbed out a plastic bowl from one of his cupboards, and a small towel from his bathroom. After filling the bowl with cool tap water, she headed back into to him and placed the towel on his forehead once she had soaked it in the water.

After a few minutes of removing the towel, placing it in the water again before she put it back on his head, she went to stand up, intending to replace the water in the bowl when he grabbed a hold of her wrist. She turned her head to make eye contact with him, and saw a strange desperation in their dark depths. He seemed to be searching for something within her gaze, and she just waited until he said whatever he needed to.

"Are you leaving?" he barely managed to speak with his voice raspy from lack of use and pain, but she understood him.

"Of course not. Just changing the water and I'll be right back." he didn't seem to be entirely satisfied and she gave him a reassuring smile and took a gentle hold of his hand that was on her wrist. "I'll be right here when you wake up, okay?" she held his larger hand, slightly damp from sweat and gave it a soft squeeze.

He let go with a nod and rolled to face away from her and she grabbed the cloth from his head, figuring there was no point now. She took the bowl and the towel out and left them on the kitchen counter, making a mental note to deal with it later. Carefully, she carried a chair from his dining table in with her and silently placed it down near the bed, then took a seat just as quietly. He turned his head just enough to acknowledge her presence before his breathing evened out, unable to stave off the effects of the sedative any longer.

For the next few hours, she dozed lightly in the chair, not allowing herself to fall properly asleep, lest he wake up and need her help. Every time he moved, or shifted, she jolted violently, ready to assist him in any way she needed to. Unfortunately it would take her at least 5 to 10 minutes before she was able to zone out again, just listening to his soft breathing and the sound of wind in the trees from outside.

Once he finally woke up, she flinched again and snapped her head toward him. He moved to rest his back against the bedhead and took a few slow breaths, as if testing to see how much pain he was still in before he opened his eyes. Almost immediately, he narrowed them at her and his brow knit together faintly before he moved to get out of bed.

"Not too fast. You'll still be groggy." Hitori recommended firmly, but doubted he would listen. Despite his polite demeanour, he was incredibly stubborn.

She moved the chair of his way but stayed near in case he needed a hand. His brief glance told her he would be fine and he disappeared into the bathroom for a few minutes to clean up. While he was in there, she put the chair back at the table and began to wash out the small bowl she had used earlier. After he emerged from the bathroom, she grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge, and handed it to him.

"You need to replace the fluids you lost. Make sure you drink plenty of water over the next day, and eat well." she continued tidying up, and looked away from him as much as she could since he still hadn't put a shirt on.

It was distracting her, and she made a point of wringing out the towel much more than necessary while she listened to him drinking the water behind her. She felt his gaze, and wasn't bothered by it, since he had a strange tendency to watch her at times and she was somewhat used to it. She figured that he learnt a lot from watching her so she never worried about it. From the corner of her eye, she saw him leaning his back against the counter and raising the bottle to his lips every few seconds. Mentally, she groaned and wondered if he realised exactly how difficult it was to not stare at him.

Regardless of how ill he might have been before and even though he wasn't 100% cured, his few months back in Konoha had allowed him to get back into probably the best shape he had been in for years. Most shinobi hit the peak of their career around this age, if they made it this far. They had years of experience under their proverbial belt, and most had made either chunin or some even jonin by this point. Itachi was a bit of an outlier, but that wasn't surprising. He was generally just an exception to most of the guidelines in the shinobi world.

Graduating from the academy at the age of 6, becoming an ANBU Captain at 13, and being accepted into the Akatsuki and surviving years amongst the most dangerous and incredible shinobi the world had to offer were only just the most glaringly obvious things on his file. Aside from all that, he was like a sponge. He rarely forgot anything that she talked about with him, even things mentioned in passing, and his overall abilities as a shinobi were nothing short of legendary. She had no doubt in her mind that he could beat her with his eyes closed, and only using one hand. Probably one finger would be sufficient.

She envied the fact that he was just so good at absolutely everything he tried his hand at. Tsunade had decided to hand over the entirety of ANBU operations to him considering his incredible understanding of ANBU missions and brilliant strategical ability. Sakura had told her that their meeting about what his job entailed went for a grand total of two hours. Considering running ANBU was a massive part of the Hokage's job, the fact that he understood the position and it's requirements in such a short time was shocking. Regardless of his experience as an operative, running the show was a different matter entirely.

That was just the tip of the iceberg however, as a very broken man lied underneath his surface of achievements and prowess. She was honestly astounded, from a medical point of view, that he hadn't gone insane yet. His mental fortitude was nothing to sneeze at, and she wondered what sort of horrors his photographic memory made him relive when he closed his eyes. Considering how much he had lived through, the fact that he was still a kind, polite man was miraculous. She had seen him help an older lady with her groceries on her way to ANBU HQ one afternoon and had almost dropped dead on the spot from shock.

He was by far one of the polite people she had ever met, and he was rather funny when he wanted to be. Not to mention he was easy on the eyes too, more so with his shirt off like now. But staring was rude and he was far too perceptive to not notice if she did stare. Although some would say his features made him appear feminine, the long hair for example, his bone structure was fine but his jawline was strongly angled. His cheekbones were fairly high, which slimmed his face somewhat. She also didn't think she had ever seen him with stubble at all, but maybe he just didn't grow facial hair very well.

Unable to delay her task any longer, she turned to him and walked over with purpose, standing directly in front of him. Carefully, she raised her fingers to his temple and began to assess how his migraine was going. She had been too worried about waking him to do it before, so now was as good a time as any.

"Why didn't you go the hospital?" She lectured him quietly, all concerns about him being her Commander forgotten.

"I had no warning, and once it started I was unable to move." He explained softly, standing very still while she examined him.

"Do you get auras or any warning beforehand at all?" Hitori asked as her chakra flowed through his head gently.

"I have had auras before, but infrequently."

"Is this from using your Sharingan?" She could feel the damage to his optic nerve and the area surrounding it and wondered if the migraines were a side effect. He nodded in answer and she continued. "Is it worse if you use the Mangekyo form?"

"Much worse."

She quickly made eye contact with him and frowned. He was incredibly lucky that he wasn't blind, but having migraines like this was torturous enough. After feeling the pain he must have been in, she wanted to cry for all the years he must have been crippled by them and had no way of dealing with it but to wait until it was over. Now that he was back in Konoha, she hoped that Sakura would be able to heal the damage and ease his pain.

"I would like to heal the damage for you, but I don't have the finer control that Sakura has. So I will leave it for her." She dropped her hands and he nodded. "You should have seen her straight away. How did you do this anyway?"

"Sparring with Kakashi."

"Of course. You boys and your testosterone. I'm sure he's in a similar state." She rolled her eyes and chuckled after she managed to make him crack a smirk.

He drained the rest of the water bottle and she struggled once more to keep her eyes away from his toned torso. It threatened to draw her gaze for as long as she was able to look, but instead she stepped away and leant her back against the counter so she was next to him.

"Are you in pain?" She asked as he closed his eyes and breathed slowly for a moment.

"None, thanks to you." He looked down at her and gave her his version of a smile and she felt colour rise to her cheeks.

Averting her eyes away, she scratched the back of her head to stop him from seeing her blush. She heard him huff amusedly and knew it was too late. After glaring at him in mock-anger, she punched him in the arm as hard as she dared, which wasn't hard at all. He raised an eyebrow as if to poke fun at her effort to get back at him so she punched him again, a little harder this time. Her eyes caught for a moment as the muscle of his arm flexed and his voice drew her attention.

"Staring is rude, Sokkenai."

She could hear how much he was enjoying teasing her from his tone and she stomped her foot in anger at herself. Looking at the sink, she pushed him away and felt her cheeks flush dark once more.

"Then put a fucking shirt on, Uchiha."

As he strolled into his bedroom, she swore she could hear him laughing softly and resisted the urge to look back at him once more. It wasn't as if she had gorgeous young men chasing after her, so seeing an attractive shirtless man was a rarity. Even when she was working in the hospital, she was too busy dealing with people dying to think about it.

When he emerged, he still had the same smug look on his face and she rolled her eyes at him.

"Don't get too cocky, Uchiha. I might have to flash you to make it even." She knew that this would get a reaction from him.

His eyes went wide as they could without them falling from his head and his jaw dropped with no resistance. Immediately, she cracked up laughing to the point where she could barely stand. She doubled over and held her stomach for almost a minute while she felt his gaze on her, which just made her laugh more. When she finally stood back up, he was leaning against the doorframe and smiling. It seemed he knew she was getting a reaction from him and that she had won that battle. She chuckled softly again as he shook his head at her.

"Shall I make us some tea?" He offered politely, clearly knowing there was no chance of him winning now.

"No, you sit. I'll make tea." She waved towards the small dining table and he continued walking toward the kitchen.

He kept his pace and she spun on foot and glared at him. She had just saved him from a serious migraine and now he wasn't even going to listen to her? Hell no.

"Oi! I said sit." She exclaimed at him loudly, enough to make him stop just a few feet from her.

"You know, you really aren't very intimidating." He said with a raised eyebrow and a smirk, just enough for her to wonder what he had up his sleeve.

"Uchiha. I will reach through shadow to bitch slap you unless you  _sit down_."

She couldn't stop herself from laughing completely as he raised his hands in a gesture of submission before he walked backwards to the dining table and sat down. Once the kettle boiled she poured them a pot and took it over before going back for the cups and saucers. He poured a cup for her first and slid it over to her before fixing one for himself.

"So, are you sure your head is okay?" She asked once, just to be very sure, knowing how stubborn he could be.

"I am fine. Thank you, Sokkenai." He gave her a small nod of thanks as well as he spoke.

"Seriously, how many times am I going to tell you that you can call me Hitori. No one calls me by my last name. It's weird." She appreciated his being polite, but she didn't really care that much about being called by her last name.

"Will you call me 'Itachi'?" He quipped back at her and she groaned.

"That's different! You are my superior and you outrank me."

"We are not at work currently… You called me Itachi earlier when you found me too."

"Ugh!" Hitori threw her hands up. "Fine! You win... _Itachi_." She said through gritted teeth, admitting her defeat.

"Thank you,  _Hitori_." His smug tone told her that he was pleased to win this fight and she rolled her eyes.

"You're welcome. You need to eat something though." She spied some bread on the counter. "Where is your toaster?" She asked as she stood up and walked into his kitchen.

"I don't have one." Spinning on the ball of her foot, she stared at him for a minute before she marched out the door and returned a minute later with her toaster.

"You are a shinobi. Why do you own a toaster?" he seemed to have recovered quickly, judging by his voice that had his teasing lilt to it that always made her chuckle.

"Well, we aren't all Uchiha. We can't all be good at  _everything_  we do such as Katon jutsu." she retorted with mock anger and tried not to smile to keep up the appearance that his teasing had worked.

"Can you use Katon jutsu at all?" he asked, his tone back to being serious. Ever the businessman he was.

"Actually, it's my second release. But I can't control it well enough to make toast. Don't really feel like burning the apartment building down today." She heard his faint huff at her joke and the toast dinged as it popped up, golden brown in colour. "I've been wanting to work on it for the jonin exams, but ANBU has kept me busy and I haven't been able to find anyone to teach me. I was going to ask Kakashi, but he'll be Hokage any day now, and he will be way too busy. I don't know any other jonin well enough to feel comfortable asking them." Her tone was purposely accusatory but he smiled anyway.

She went and sat back down, taking a huge bite of her toast and snorted when Itachi raised his arms as if to say 'Um, I can teach you, you idiot' before he grabbed a slice of toast for himself. Crumbs went everywhere and she laughed after she had swallowed her mouthful of food.

"Uchiha Itachi, I live across from you, I work with you at HQ, and you come over here because I have the best tea in Konoha. Surely I will end up driving you insane if you train me in katon as well. I am a slow learner with jutsu and I am prone to temper tantrums." she sipped her tea and watched his eyebrow raised ever so carefully as he thought of a response.

"I am accustomed to your...abrasive outbursts, Hitori." he quipped with one corner of his mouth turned upwards in his version of a smirk.

She gasped and placed her hand on her chest in a dramatic display of shock, but started laughing anyway. It was rare that she got have a good conversation like this with someone, and she was enjoying herself, but she wanted to be sure that he was serious about his offer. Her laughter died down and she scratched her head awkwardly.

"So, you would really teach me katon to help me prepare for Jonin?" she pursed her lips and scrunched her nose up until he nodded slowly in reply.

He narrowed his eyes at her when she chuckled faintly and waited for her to say whatever popped in her head.

"Then I guess I won't need my toaster any more then." She said with a chuckle before she sighed softly. "I thought you would yell at me for barging in earlier." She admitted shyly as she stared into her teacup.

"On the contrary, I was glad you arrived back safely and came to assist me." He replied evenly, and she didn't miss the appreciation in his eyes as she sipped the last of her tea.

"Well, you are always welcome. I'm happy to help however I can. I suppose it's the least I can do in return for your tuition." She smiled and stood up to leave.

He stood up with her and seemed a little awkward for a moment as he followed her toward the door. Carefully, he slipped past and opened it for her but as she stepped through, his voice halted her progress.

"Hitori."

"Mm?" She turned back to look at him and they were suddenly standing very close together in the doorway, but neither of them moved.

"Thank you...for earlier. I appreciate you coming to help me even though you are so exhausted." His voice was soft and quiet as always, but he did sound truly grateful and it tugged at her heartstrings.

"That's what friends are for!" She said with a chuckle and after a strange look appeared on his face for a moment, he huffed softly.

"Go and get some rest. You are off for two weeks." He reminded her, his tone suggested that he was expecting an abrasive response.

"Two weeks?! No fricking way. I saved you from death by migraine. One will do." She exclaimed loudly and he didn't seem phased but nodded in agreement.

"One week and 3 days it is then." He smiled at her before she turned away and headed back to her apartment, waving over her shoulder.

At least she got her way… _Sort of..._


	17. Breakfast

**Chapter 17 - Breakfast**

Hitori was currently grabbing a variety of unhealthy and healthy snacks for her girls night with Sakura. This morning at the hospital, she had gone to help Sakura with her poison research. When the pink haired medic had suggested the idea, Hitori had replied with silence and blank expression, not being exactly sure what one would do on a 'girl's night'. She had never been to one before, let alone been asked to attend one, but she was glad that Sakura had asked her nonetheless. It would give them both a desperately needed night off to have some fun without having to worry about work too early the following morning. Sakura didn't have surgery scheduled until midday, so she could make her way to the hospital leisurely once they got up. Hitori also had no missions and no paperwork or reports to complete, so she had the day off tomorrow.

She ensured to grab the best quality sake from the same shop that the Hokage herself bought from, knowing that Sakura had inherited her teacher's refined taste for sake. Once she got home, she unpacked the grocery bags and left out most of the snacks and sake for them to have when Sakura arrived in about an hour. Her rounds usually finished about 5 o'clock, so if nothing extraordinary happened, she would arrive at about 5.15ish.

While she waited for Sakura to arrive, she laid out a few things for them, ensuring that she put an extra bath towel out for Sakura so she could shower before she went to work tomorrow. Knowing Sakura, they wouldn't be getting too far from the lounge once they were one bottle of sake down, so she didn't want to have to run around later when she was too tired to do it.

Sakura arrived a little early, and she dropped her bag in Hitori's room and they got set up on the couch. They started with a nice pot of tea and watched random shows on the TV, even though they were talking too much to pay attention. The girls chatted away for hours, trying to avoid the topics of work and missions as much as they could. Sakura and Ino were still good friends, so she always heard plenty of gossip from the blonde who worked in the flower shop when she wasn't on missions. Sakura was telling Hitori about Ino's crush on Sai, and how they had apparently gone on their first date a week ago. Since Ino had been put on a mission the next day and had to leave immediately, Sakura didn't know how it went and they had a good time making up things that may or may not have happened. Asking Sai was pointless because he would just shrug and say it was fine.

After a few cups of sake, Sakura was talking about how she still wasn't sure what was going on between her and Sasuke. When he had returned, he had sort of hinted to her that he might return her feelings, but Sakura was unfortunately rather clueless about what he had meant. She explained that it hadn't seem overly romantic, but he certainly wasn't an open book, even to her after all the years they had known each other. Hitori felt sorry for her since she knew that Sakura had such a big heart that she couldn't hate Sasuke after everything that had happened. The guy had been through enough in his life, and despite all the bad decisions he had made, he deserved some happiness. Just like someone else Hitori knew.

"What about you Hitori? Any men if your life? Are you still sleeping with Haruko?" Sakura asked, nudging with her elbow in the ribs.

"Pfft, no. Haruko and I stopped sleeping together ages ago."

"To be fair, you said that the first time you 'stopped sleeping together'," she did quotation marks in the air with her fingers to emphasise her point.

"Yeah, but it's been well over 18 months. We talked about it and there just isn't any point. It only happened a few times anyway." Hitori shrugged and sipped her sake carefully since she was already rather tipsy.

"Why don't you find someone then? Surely you don't enjoy being alone."

Hitori sighed because she was right. She didn't like being alone, but she hadn't felt anything with Haruko. It wasn't uncommon for shinobi who were on good terms to sleep together just for the sake of satisfying physical needs and desire. That's all it was with Haruko, nothing further. So although it did help with the wanting to be with someone, it didn't feel like it was filling that small void that romantic relationships did. Not that she would know what that felt like anyway. But it was the idea that she got from the books that she read. Almost every book she had ever read had romance in it, because as a shinobi she never felt that she would experience it. It was a vain attempt to live vicariously through them.

"I never expected to live a happy married life when I chose to be a shinobi. I didn't even expect to live this long. So no, I'm not worried. I'm not interested in being like Naruto and Hinata. Those two are sickeningly sweet." she shuddered and Sakura laughed.

"I'm glad they are happy." she said with a slightly wistful look in her eye, and Hitori knew better than to prod. "Naruto was so oblivious for years! For someone who is good with people, he's also terrible with people."

Both girls laughed and talked for a while longer, chatting and giggling about various things before they both got into bed and fell asleep...

* * *

A flare of chakra from the front door woke the girls the next day, and they both recognised that it belonged to Uchiha Itachi. Out of sheer habit, Hitori flared her's back to permit him entry while Sakura got up to use the bathroom. Hitori heard them greet each other a moment later and she groaned and rolled over as Itachi stood at the doorway to the bedroom. He leaned casually against the doorframe and Hitori didn't even have to look at him to know that he was finding their tired and hungover state amusing.

"I presume you forgot." he piped up softly, but loud enough so that she could hear him.

"About what?" Hitori said with a voice raspy from lack of use.

"We agreed to go get breakfast since it's my first day off in three weeks." his amused smirk was present even in his tone and she resisted the urge to groan at him.

She recalled their conversation earlier that week when she reported to him to turn in her medic report for her most recent mission and she had berated him for not resting enough.

" _Commander Uchiha. It is my professional opinion that you are working far too much. You must take time to rest and decompress properly so that you can work at full capacity while you are here." she said with a voice that anyone passing by would assume was a professional one. However, Itachi knew better and could hear the slight amusement in her voice and see the glint in her silver eyes._

" _Sokkenai, I thank you for your concern, and I'm sure you will be pleased to know that I have a day off after tomorrow." he joined in their banter seamlessly, and only the tiny upward curl of his mouth revealed his own amusement._

" _Ah, that is good news. Please ensure that you do as little as possible for the entire day. Take the time to rest and relax." she was pursing her lips to stop herself from smiling._

" _Actually, I was planning on going to the tea shop for breakfast." he lowered his voice a little since their conversation was definitely leaning towards social now._

" _That's a fantastic idea." she struggled not to laugh but she was failing._

" _I think I'll go around 8am." He hinted subtly, and she scrunched her nose up at him._

" _You aren't even going to sleep in on your day off?" She couldn't keep up her facade from sheer horror at the thought of not sleeping in on your day off._

_Itachi merely stared blankly at her, and they knew their game time was over. They had a bit of a play but now there was people passing by outside and they needed to get back to work. Hitori bowed politely and left Itachi to his paperwork…_

"I didn't agree to go this early!" She shouted with her face half in the pillow, muffling her voice somewhat.

Sakura came out of the bathroom and grabbed her bag. "I'll see you guys around. Thanks for letting me crash Hitori."

"Byeeee," Hitori said drowsily but still didn't move. She felt a little bit bad, but knew that Sakura was a morning person and didn't mind too much.

"Sorry I woke you so early, Sakura." Itachi apologised quietly. "See you later."

"No worries." Hitori heard her say along with footsteps towards the front door. "Stay out of trouble you two!" Sakura called as she closed the apartment door behind her.

Itachi walked closer to stand next to her bed but on the opposite side so that she couldn't reach him. He was smart enough to not let her get a hold of him while he woke her up. Unfortunately, he couldn't react fast enough when he felt a hand pull him down by his collar. Using her jutsu had worked! She continued pulling until his torso was on the bed and then she used the same arm to grab a leg and throw it up on the bed. He struggled in vain, but she won in the end.

"Lay down and sleep. I need like two more hours." She groaned at him and enjoyed his stunned silence while she could.

"Hitori-"

"Sleep!" She screeched and pushed his head back down on the bed.

The Uchiha sighed loudly to spite her and shuffled around to get comfortable, and Hitori considered for a moment that he might be trying to stop her from going back to sleep. Though he stopped after a minute and she was satisfied enough to calm her mind and doze off.

When she woke a short time later, Itachi had fallen asleep with an arm behind his head. She was facing toward him and smiled. Instead of waking him, she closed her eyes again and dozed off once more. Despite his being so tough on the outside, he was only human and was affected by stress, exhaustion both physical and mental. He needed to make sure that he took it easy sometimes. Being disciplined was great, but you also needed to have discipline in looking after yourself, not just by eating and sleeping, but resting your mind and taking a day to chill out.

Roughly an hour and a half later, she awoke again in the same position she had fallen asleep in. Itachi hadn't moved either but she could tell that he was on the edge of waking from the feel of his chakra.

"Itachi." She whispered softly to draw his attention.

He opened his eyes and turned his head toward her slowly. She smiled at his sleepy face and chuckled softly. From what she could tell, he seemed surprised that he had actually fallen asleep and he did look a little more well rested than he had earlier.

"How did you sleep?" Hitori asked quietly, still smiling at him.

Instead of answering verbally, he nodded and stared at her ceiling. In one movement, she lifted her legs up and swung them over the bed and stood up. Carefully, she stretched her arms out in front and sighed happily at the feeling. She felt Itachi watch her but was quite used to his constant gaze and didn't worry about it. He got up a moment later and tilted his head from side to side while Hitori got the idea to tease him a little.

"Come on Uchiha. I'm hungry." His glare was immediate and she snorted in repressed laughter.

"I was hungry two hours ago." His tone was very unimpressed but he knew that she was just teasing.

"Pfft. I've been hungry countless times on all the shitty missions you've sent me on. So as far as I'm concerned," she walked over and grabbed his shoulders, "you can put your complaints in a certain place."

"And where is that?" He asked with an eyebrow raised before she spun him to face away from her.

"Right here!"

A smacking sound reverberated through the room as she landed a flat hand right on his butt cheek just hard enough to make him flinch. She knew that this would definitely freak him out and she began cackling loudly in sadistic joy to the point she could barely stand. After the initial shock faded, he spun to face her with an utterly bewildered look on his face which made her laugh even more. Hitori practically fell against the door frame as his expression stayed the same for a moment, until he shook his head and turned away to hide his own amusement.

"Now piss off, I'm going to get changed." She was still laughing every few seconds but he didn't move. "What? You wanna watch?"

He flinched again with widened eyes and zipped away so quickly she could mistake it for a Body Flicker technique. She was probably going to pay for being such a pest later on, but it was fun for now. He was much more used to her now and most of her attempts to tease, frighten or make him laugh were met by a blank look and a raised eyebrow, which she found just as funny. It was his way of not giving her the satisfaction of getting a rise or reaction from him. She also hoped that maybe just the attempt she made to make him smile and laugh was enough. Maybe she wouldn't tease him any more for today though. Surely he would get her back later.  _Somehow_.

She got changed into what she figured was appropriate for breakfast but a small part of her brain was telling her that she was too dressed up. Her top was a tank top with a small, black and white floral pattern, which accentuated her slightly larger than average bust. She paired it with simple black shorts that came to halfway down her thigh, revealing toned muscle. Squeezing her eyes closed tightly, Hitori shook her head at herself. This was ridiculous but she was far too lazy, tired and slightly hungover to change again.

Once they had arrived and been seated at their favourite place, they ordered their usual and waited patiently. Hitori combed her fingers through her hair idly while Itachi sat silently, looking at her with faint curiosity in his eyes. When she noticed, her silver orbs widened and she raised an eyebrow at him in question.

"What?" She asked after a moment of him not giving her any hints from his expression.

Although it was barely perceptible, he seemed to catch himself before schooling his expression and shrugging. Maybe he was just staring into space but it just happened to be in her direction. She shrugged as well and sat up a little straighter as she saw their tea being brought over. They both thanked the waitress, who even knew them by first name now.

"I'm shouting you today." Hitori said offhandedly as she poured her tea from the pot into the pretty, ornate cup.

"I'm sure you have better things you can spend your money on." Itachi commented just as offhandedly but it tugged at her heart a little, although he would not have intended such an effect. He noticed the change in her demeanour immediately. "What is it?"

"Don't say things like that." She quietly berated him with a frown on her face while she stared at the liquid in her cup. "You are a dear friend, Itachi and I would be happy to do anything for you. Even something as small as shout you breakfast."

When he didn't reply, she looked up from her tea to see his eyes wide and shining, despite them being almost black in colour. They held a vulnerability that she had not seen in them before and it made her breath catch in her throat. A faint touch of colour rose to his cheeks and she began to smile. She didn't expect that her words would have affected him like that, but she was glad that he understood that although she spoke lightly, she was serious. He was thoroughly flustered and she found it incredibly endearing, but also very sad. He wouldn't have had friendly interaction like this is many years. Hitori wasn't exactly certain how nice Hoshigake Kisame was, but she doubted that he was a kinder person than she was. Itachi definitely got along with a few people in the village, but she knew that their friendship was different. Dare she say it,  _special_.

"Thank you Hitori." He dropped his chin into his chest, looking at his own teacup. "I...am unsure of what to say."

"It's alright. You don't have to say anything." She felt her smile grow and her eyes crinkle happily.

The colour on his cheeks was so light that she could only see it because she was so close, sitting across from him. He huffed faintly and began to smile shyly. It made him look like he was so much younger, since normally he looked so serious that it made him seem beyond his years. Now, with his abruptly bright smile, it was almost as if the pain that hovered over him constantly had been erased, if only for a moment. It was only now that she realised how sad he always looked, how the pain and loneliness was etched onto his face like he was a statue, carved to look like he had lived through the horrors of the world. It was safe to assume that he certainly had seen and lived through horrible things, although she wanted to know about them, she would not ask him to regale them. Everyone had their story, had experienced loss, pain, heartbreak and upset but she was sure that Itachi was in a league of his own with what he had endured. Her heart ached for him, but she hoped that she had at least given him a modicum of joy. He had done so much for her - probably more than he realised - so she was happy if she could give something back.

The strangely joyful moment was broken when the waitress came over with their food and they began to eat silently. Hitori did notice that although the colour from his cheeks had disappeared, a tiny smile remained on his face. It was the slightest upward curve of the corners of his mouth, but it was enough for her to understand that she had made him happy. He wasn't as expressive as her, but a frown or smile still meant the same, even if it was smaller and less noticeable. They enjoyed their meals quietly and she leant back in her chair and sighed in enjoyment briefly. Itachi had his elbows on the table and his fingers linked together. They smiled at one another knowingly, before Itachi leant forward and took a breath to speak.

"Hitori, I…" He spoke up between lazy bites of his food. Hitori looked up to see he had barely touched his food because he must have been lost in his thoughts.

"Itachi. It's okay, really." She said with her mouth half full before she swallowed and waited for him to look up from his plate.

Once he did, she just smiled and poured some tea from his pot into his cup for him silently before she continued eating her food. Itachi continued as well, if a little slower. After they were done, Hitori went up to pay and Itachi followed behind her when they left. As they entered their apartment building, Hitori groaned and shuffled her feet as they went up the stairs to their floor. She was still tired and somewhat hungover, though it was only general drowsiness from being up so late and still having some alcohol in her system. It was pointless to waste her chakra on something like that, especially when it was a good excuse for her to stay in bed all day.

She reached her door, and Itachi lingered enough for her to turn and look at him with a raised eyebrow in question. He took a breath but didn't speak right away. She gave him a moment to organise his thoughts before he finally spoke.

"Thank you." he bowed his head a little.

"No worries."

"Would you like to train today?" he offered quietly.

She groaned lazily again, but nodded. If he was going to spend more time with her on his first day off in ages, and offered to train her, it was rude to turn him down. Especially when she had no idea when they would be able to have such a perfect time again. She might get sent on a month long mission once she was back on active duty, so she should take the opportunity while it was there.

"I'll get changed."

"I'll do the same."

They went their separate ways into their apartments to ready themselves...


	18. Fire

**Chapter 18 - Fire**

Itachi entered Hitori's apartment and heard her yell that she would be out in a minute from her room. Although he still felt a little awkward, it was okay. He only felt strange not because he didn't know what to say or how to act around her, but more or less because he just didn't know what she saw in him. Sure, he had done things in his life that would haunt him long after he was dead, but he always treated Hitori as best he could. Still, that didn't mean that she would immediately become best friends with him and think that he was an amazing person. She wasn't stupid and she knew that he had done terrible things, and that he wasn't a saint, but she somehow just seemed to ignore that side of him. He already knew very well that he was a polite and well-mannered man, so surely it wasn't that hard to appreciate that side of him. He didn't want her to accept him without question, as he would feel like he was practically cheating at making friends. It would be like finding a beautiful box, only to open it and find a demon inside.

Hitori came out and went over to the small table in the corner next to her TV unit and her bookshelf that held her weapons. She hesitated when he stared blankly and spun on her heel.

"I'm not going to need weapons since we are just focusing on Katon jutsu, right?" her tone was seeking confirmation, but although it sounded like a stupid question, it wasn't. Normally she would charge weapons with Raiton chakra, but he had never used Katon like that before.

"No need for weapons." he crossed his arms over his chest but didn't let himself smile at her. Their training sessions usually ended up with Hitori laughing or depressed because she felt incompetent, but he always tried to stay serious as long as he could. "Though I do suggest bringing some burn ointment and any other medical supplies you might need."

She narrowed her eyes, pointed her finger at him and nodded approvingly before she turned and rummaged through her medical kit on the coffee table. He did huff at her thoughtful expression as she grabbed out a few things and placed them in a small storage scroll. Once she placed it in her pocket and gave him a thumbs up, they headed out to the training grounds. While they were walking, Itachi explained the fundamentals of using Katon, using your breath to fuel the technique and how to control it. Little did he know, she already knew all of this, but as always, Itachi had his own eloquent way of explaining things. By the time they got there, Hitori seemed to understand what he was trying to say well enough, so they started by sitting down on the ground.

"So, just make a ball of fire in your hand. Don't worry if it's small, but just try and control it so the size and heat stays consistent."

After a nod, Hitori took a breath and rested her elbow on her knee so her hand was in front of her. She concentrated until a small ball of fire appeared in her hand, and she managed to hold it for around ten seconds before it fizzled into empty space. Itachi realised that she had been unconsciously holding her breath the whole time and reiterated his speech about using breath to help control and fuel the technique. When she began to learn full scale Katon jutsu, she would only have her breathing to create it, so she needed to have it down pat even at this scale. It would need to be second nature for her to control the flame before she could upgrade to big techniques.

With his instruction, it didn't take long for her to be able to maintain and control the small fire in her hand. Now he would begin teaching her how to mold the chakra for the bigger techniques. Although he knew she was smart, and she understood him well, he still needed to make sure he was patient. It was common knowledge that Uchiha had a natural affinity for using Katon jutsu, so he had to take it easy with her. It wasn't as easy for her as it had been for him. He was able to use high ranking Katon jutsu by the time he was 5, after all.

"So we are going to work towards getting you to be able to proficiently perform Gokakyu no Jutsu. Then we can work on some other techniques, but since it's C-rank, I think this is the best place to start." he explained and she smiled happily, pleased with her progress so far. "Make sure that you remember that your breathing is imperative. You are going to burn yourself and expend more chakra while learning the technique, but try your best to keep the fireball small to conserve chakra so you can heal yourself. I want you to do the technique at a third of the size, to help you learn the control. Remember, the seals are Boar, Horse and Tiger. Okay?" his voice was patient, and calm as always.

"Thank you." Hitori smiled bigger at him and she did that little head tilt thing which he found adorable.

"Don't thank me now. You haven't learnt it yet." he replied with his own smile and she put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed softly.

"Itachi, this is your first day off in three weeks, and you are training me instead of switching between sleeping on the bed and the lounge every hour. Of course I should thank you." she shook her head at him as if it was obvious.

"Hitori… that's what  _you_  do on your day off." he raised an eyebrow incredulously at her and let the corner of his mouth turn upward in a faint smirk.

She scrunched her nose up and chuckled softly. "Ahah, oh yeah."

After she took a few steps away, she took up a neutral stance and took a few deep breaths and he could feel her chakra output rising as she molded and superheated the chakra within her.

"Remember, nice and small to start. Focus on consistency and control."

With a single nod, she inhaled and performed the seals with expert precision. She had clearly already practiced the combination from her proficiency and he wondered how many times she had tried this technique on her own. She hadn't told him that she had tried it before, but he could tell that she had attempted it. He hoped that she hadn't just been struggling on her own the entire time she had been trying to learn it. Although he had picked up the technique fairly easily, he had still burnt himself severely in the process. Probably because he was young and didn't have the chakra control he had now.

Her chakra output was almost perfect, but her breathing was slightly out of time and the fire appeared, but had no strength behind it and it disappeared just as quickly. Instead of going straight in front of her, it sort of sputtered out to the side and singed her. Surprisingly, she didn't flinch and he frowned at her lack of reaction.

"Are you alright?" he asked with concern in his voice that he didn't bother hiding.

She didn't even turn to look at him but gave a nod in confirmation before she tried again. Her timing was better, but she overdid her breathing in effort to try and correct her previous error before and blasted out a massive fireball, but it had no control or precision. The grass beneath her feet and ahead of her for at least 5 metres was completely gone, but she didn't burn herself as badly this time. This time she did flinch, and he could see that her skin was red and tender on her forearm. Despite this, she continued anyway and he smiled at her determination. He got the feeling that even though she had tried all this before, and was clearly used to being burnt from failed attempts, her confidence seemed to be in tact with him there. He hoped that his presence helped her, as hers did with him when he had asked for her help with medical reports months ago. Since she hadn't told him she had tried before, he decided that he wouldn't bring it up.

After another three attempts, she still hadn't got the balance right, but she was improving. Her chakra control was definitely helping to ease the process. Unfortunately a masked ANBU appeared next to him silently, not even breaking Hitori's concentration and gave him a note. It said that there was an urgent mission and he needed to go to HQ to assign a cell. It wouldn't take him long, but quite frequently whenever he got called in to HQ, he ended up getting stuck for at least an extra hour for various reasons. Giving mission plan advice, training advice, recommendations for training partners and the like. Although he didn't mind, and he enjoyed his job, he also was enjoying spending the day with Hitori. He figured she would be alright for a while by herself though.

"Hitori. I need to go to HQ briefly. I'll be back soon." he informed her as he folded back up the note.

She turned to him and nodded. "Okay, I'll be here."

Once he had an image of his office in mind, he appeared there in a graceful flutter of leaves and got straight to work. The scout was waiting for him and entered immediately and gave their report. Itachi got to work and sent runners to summon the shinobi best suited for the job. Hitori would fit it well enough, but she was training and would be depleted on chakra. The cell arrived within a couple minutes of one another, and he gave them their mission packet and sent them off to leave immediately.

However, as he predicted, as soon as he went to leave there were a few rookies just outside his office discussing some training plans. They looked at him and bowed and he knew he was going to get stuck here. They were the 3 newest recruits and he wouldn't refuse them if they wanted training advice. It was his job after all.

"Commander Uchiha, do you have a minute?" the taller male asked politely and he gave them a nod and waited for them to speak.

He discussed some training tactics that he had used many years ago when he became a Captain, and suggested one of the best things that every shinobi needed. The ability to adapt. All shinobi, regardless of rank or what faction they usually worked in, such as ANBU and medics, needed to be able to work with completely different people at the drop of a hat. In fact, it was rare, aside from genin teams, that once you were chuunin to consistently work with the same people. So with ANBU, when teams were organised within minutes, all shinobi needed to adapt to whoever they were working with instantaneously. It was important that they could work all this out without having too much discussion. The more discussion during missions, the more likely their plans could be foiled by enemies.

After he had spent a few minutes giving them advice, they bowed in thanks and let him get on his way. He was stopped again by two different Captains who informed him that they had left their mission reports in his office, which he had seen, but ignored in favour of going back to training with Hitori. He'd deal with them tomorrow morning first thing anyway. Just before he got out the door, he received another report from a scout and had to stay back to assemble another cell. Usually these sorts of emergencies didn't happen all too often, and this had been the first time it had happened on a day off, so of course he ended up having three all total. A hat trick.

So by the time everything had been organised, he was stuck at HQ for a grand total of an hour and forty minutes. Instead of walking out the door, he resisted the temptation to genjutsu the entire building so he could sneak out, but instead he just body flickered out of the building and then jogged back to the training grounds, hoping Hitori would still be there. He didn't expect her to be there, since she would have been exhausted after only another few attempts at the jutsu, but he figured that he would check just in case. Chances are she might have exhausted herself until she passed out and he would have to carry her home.

But when he arrived at the training grounds, he saw her steady on her feet and still going and saw her perform the jutsu. Although her shoulders were slightly slumped, and her breathing somewhat laboured, she hadn't given up. She seemed to have gotten the technique and timing down, but she was controlling the correct chakra output to lessen or increase the size of the fireball. Her chakra control was definitely making it easier for her since she would pick it up immediately. It was really just getting the hang of correctly molding, heating and timing the chakra output along with breathing.

As soon as she took a breath, she turned to see him and immediately screeched at him.

"Where the fuck were you?! You were gone for like four days!"

He repressed his laughter down to a snort over her outburst and walked to stand next to her, taking in her injuries as he approached. Her forearms were burnt, her clothes were singed and there was literally no grass within a 20 metre radius around her. Her skin was dusted with soot and dirt, and he could smell smoke and burnt hair.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, although from her ability to screech like a banshee, he assumed she wasn't too bad.

"Yeah, I've got the chakra control sorted, so I've rationed it fairly well." she brushed her shoulder in a cocky gesture and he repressed his laughter to a snort again. "I am pretty depleted though." she admitted with a half-shrug.

"Got one more in you?" he asked and cross his arms over his chest. He raised an eyebrow when she narrowed her eyes at him for a minute, but she nodded anyway.

She reset her stance and her hand seal speed had almost doubled since he had left. He used his Sharingan to analyse her technique now, since he would only need to instruct her on minor adjustments now. After her breath in, she performed the technique with impressive efficiency. Although she was far from perfect, she had improved exponentially. As he requested, the fireball was small, about a third of the size of the proper technique as well.

He was proud.

Although he allowed it to show on his face, he knew he needed to tell her. From experience, such as earlier today, she could smile brightly at him all day, but sometimes her words just hit him in places he didn't realise still existed within him. Or maybe those places were being revived by her kindness. He probably hadn't talked to anyone in his entire life as much as he talked to Hitori, and their conversations weren't one-sided either. She was smart enough to engage him fully and even challenge him sometimes, help him find another way of looking at things. He appreciated that side of her greatly and he wanted her to know how proud he was of her after such a short amount of time.

"Hitori, you've progressed brilliantly in merely an hour…" he paused and couldn't stop the smile from appearing on his face. "I'm proud of you."

Her silver eyes went wide immediately, and her jaw dropped slightly as well as his words hit her. She blinked at him slowly for a few seconds as it sunk in, before she chuckled shyly and brushed her hair that had fallen from her plait off the back of her neck. Her sudden onset of shyness was endearing and he smiled a little wider.

"Thank you, Itachi. And thank you for offering to help me. I know you're busy." she shrugged and held her hands up in an 'Well duh' gesture. "Even on your day off."

"You're very welcome, Hitori. I love making time for you." His words were more  _intense_  than he expected, but he managed to keep his composure. "Especially when you do so well in such a short time." He hoped desperately that he had saved the situation a little, but surprisingly she hadn't reacted outwardly at his word choice.

"Well, I'm sure you already know, but I have been trying to use this technique for a while. You just explained how to mold and heat the chakra in a different way and I understood it straight away. I've never formed an actual fireball before. It was just a messy explosion beforehand. So I have your brilliant instruction to credit with my progress." she chuckled at herself, clearly remembering some failed previous attempts.

"Shall we call it a day?" he offered calmly, despite him still inwardly freaking out a little.

"Yeah, I'm hungry. Can we get take-away? I'm craving some ramen." she walked over to stand next to him and lifted up her small pack that held her supplies. She knew that he wasn't a fan of take-away, but it was probably only because she didn't cook too well.

"Ramen?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Mmhmm!" she clasped her hands together and put them under her chin and fluttered her lashes at him with a brilliant smile on her face.

He wasn't expecting it, and laughed at her although he secretly found it adorable. When he nodded she made a tiny squeak of pleasure and wrapped an arm around his waist and started walking, forcing him to keep up with her. Managing to tone his surprise down to a widening of his eyes, he kept pace with her and wondered if he was supposed to put his arm around her waist in return. Is this what friends were supposed to do? It felt... _nice._

Cautiously, he moved his arm from between them and returned her friendly affection. When he settled his arm over her shoulder - due to their height difference - she looked up at him with a smile and laughed softly. She snuggled in closer and yawned, and he hoped that she would sleep well tonight. They both had issues with their sleep, but hopefully she exhausted herself enough to get a good night's rest.

They arrived at the ramen stall within a few minutes and they pulled away from each other and took their seats. Ayame already knew what she wanted and waited for Itachi to chose before taking his order and began to get them ready. Once she brought them their meals, they ate happily and Itachi was surprised at how good it was, since he had never eaten at Ichiraku before. Maybe he wouldn't mind coming back here occasionally, so long as Hitori came with him.

Once they were finished, Itachi paid for their meals, justifying to Hitori that she had paid for breakfast so it was only fair. She argued that he had spent time training her and she should pay him back, but he shook his head and paid anyway. They began heading back to their building, slowly walking and chatting along the way. Mostly, they talked about Katon jutsu and the different sort of feelings and timings she had gone through to try and get the technique right. Itachi discussed the next steps in increasing the size of her fireball and how to eventually get rapid fire and multiple large fireballs as well. He was glad to have someone to listen to him so intently, and he appreciated Hitori's rapt attention.

It only took them 10 minutes before they reached their floor and they parted ways for the day. It was only the middle of the afternoon, but the sun would be going down soon and Itachi wanted to have an early night. He presumed that Hitori would do the same after exhausting herself at the training grounds. His mind stayed on her even as he lazed around his apartment for the rest of the afternoon and well into the evening. After he made himself a small dinner of rice and grilled fish, he went about cleaning up his apartment and went to the laundromat since he hadn't done it earlier in the day.

Around 10pm, he finally hopped into bed and tried to calm and quiet his mind. But, as per usual, his thoughts were filled with the woman across the hall...


	19. Too Many and Too Few

**Chapter 19 - Too Many and Too Few**

A sudden flare of chakra from Hitori's apartment sent alarm through Itachi's body like an electric shock. Although she had woken him up it was second nature for him to grab his kunai from under his pillow and body flickered into her bedroom. Hitori was cowering in one corner of her room with her eyes fixed on something behind him. Her grey eyes were wide with fear and her hands in a defensive position.

"What is it? What's wrong?!" He asked with alarm and concern, ready to fight if they needed to. His heart was racing inside his chest, and it hurt him seeing her so scared.

She grabbed his arm with both of hers in a vice grip and pulled him into her which also spun him around to face the same way. Carefully, without moving her gaze, she let one of her arms free to point at the offending thing that had upset and scared her so. When he saw what it was, his jaw dropped at the ridiculousness of the situation and he tried his best not to laugh. He relaxed fully, but still felt her strong grip on his arm.

It was a  _spider_.

It was half the size of a door knob and dark brown. A common spider in the Konoha and warmer climate of Fire Country. It wasn't venomous; in fact completely harmless, unless you were a fly or mosquito. Since mosquito season had begun, the spiders appeared from their hiding places more frequently to build webs and catch their dinner. The spider was walking just inside the door frame on the wall and every time it moved, Hitori flinched, and made a whining sound and she clung onto him tighter than before. His arm might just fall off at this rate.

"Would you like me to remove it for you?" He asked softly, unable to hide his amusement from his tone, but she didn't seem to notice. Her unblinking eyes were still fixed on the arachnid.

Hitori nodded vigorously and groaned in agreement. It took some coaxing for her to let him go so he could get rid of it, but after a minute of complaining she finally released him. He carefully stepped over to the wall where the spider was and reached up with one hand underneath it for it to fall into. With a swift nudge from his finger, it plopped into his hand and he brought the other one on top to cover it and stop it from running away. Hitori was making all sorts of horrified noises from behind him and yelped when he turned around and raised his hands to indicate the spider was there.

She cowered away but came to her senses and turned around to open a window and then retreated to the opposite corner so he could put it outside without her being near it. He smiled softly as she watched carefully. The cool night breeze was coming through the window and even though the fresh air was nice, he wasn't exactly dressed appropriately for cooler weather.

"Don't hurt it!" She exclaimed when he placed it on the windowsill outside and nudged it to move with his finger. His smile grew at her pacifistic worrying that the spider was going to get hurt despite her insistence that it not be in her apartment.

He closed the window once he was done and raised his open hands and showed her that it was gone. She walked over and looked at the little guy sitting on the windowsill outside and breathed a sigh of relief and sat on her bed. It was only then that Itachi noticed that she was only wearing a navy blue crop top and small black shorts that didn't leave much to the imagination. For lack of not knowing what else to do, he flopped down next to her and shook his head when he remembered he was only in his underwear as well.

With a sigh of relief, she rested her head against his shoulder and swung her legs back and forth since they didn't touch the ground while she sat like this. He laughed softly at her and she scoffed at him but didn't say anything.

"Thank you Itachi. You certainly didn't need your kunai." She chuckled softly, referring to the steel blade sitting on her bed.

"You're quite welcome, but I must ask. You're a shinobi. Why on earth are you afraid of a spider?" His tone made it very obvious that he found this amusing and he didn't bother trying to hide it.

She squished her face into the muscles of his upper arm and groaned. Her face looked ridiculous but he wasn't able to look at her properly without focusing on something else. So instead he averted his eyes and kept them on the scenery through the window.

"Iunno." Her words were less coherent with her face up against him and he was trying very hard not to laugh at her. "Dun pick on'me."

They were quiet for a moment while they stared out of the window together. The moon was fairly high in the sky so it was just bright enough to make out the buildings. From here, they could make out the hospital, ANBU HQ, the Hokage Tower and a bunch of the apartment buildings.

Silence ended when Hitori stiffened and Itachi looked down at her, wondering what the matter was and he saw her eyes were widened.

"Itachi...have you realised?" He shrugged although he knew what she was talking about. "We are both in our underwear."

"Yes, we are." He replied evenly as Hitori repressed a giggle.

"I can't say I've heard of many fairy tales were the knight is in his underwear instead of shining armour. Won't complain though."

He could see from the corner of his eye that she pursed her lips in an attempt to stifle her laughter, although she was mostly failing. She didn't seem all too embarrassed, which was good as he didn't want her to be, and he surprisingly didn't feel too embarrassed either. Maybe because they were on equal ground; it was even. They both lost it and laughed for a few seconds, unable to hold it in any longer.

"I'll...uhh...go back to bed." He said after they had calmed down, stood up and scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. Hitori stood up with him before she moved to hop back in her own bed.

Itachi was in her bedroom doorway when she called his name. He spun on the ball of his foot to look over his shoulder at her. She was standing next to her bed and he concentrated on keeping his eyes up.

"Thank you again for coming to my rescue." She smiled brightly at him and he returned it with a smaller one. "One more thing. Could you face me for a second?" She asked with a strangely serious tone and he did as she requested without thinking.

When her eyes dropped, he realised what she was doing and although he found it a little strange to let her look, he took it as a compliment. May as well get some confidence out of it since there was no point turning away now. He didn't miss her bottom lip coming between her teeth before she made eye contact with him again and smiled once more.

"I'm good now. Thanks." Her tone was rather unabashed which surprised him but she was obviously getting more comfortable around him.

"Goodnight, Hitori." He offered quietly in reply, unsure of what else to say but he purposely kept his tone and expression unreadable.

"Goodnight, Itachi. Sleep well." She kept her voice sultry and he knew that she was just teasing and he shook his head as he went out of her front door.

Once he walked back into his own bedroom and crawled under the covers, he knew that he wasn't going to forget that instance anytime soon...

It was still dark when there was a knock at her door. It was perfectly normal for shinobi, especially ANBU to be on call 24 hours, 7 days a week. Normally once they had finished their rostered time off after each mission, they went to 'active on call' unless they had already been assigned a mission. More than likely, she would have gone to pester Itachi for something to do later today so she was glad that she didn't need to. He would have been summoned earlier since she had as well and she instinctively tried to sense him in his apartment to find it empty.

She opened the door and was given a mission packet by a shinobi with a blank white mask. With a nod, she accepted it and they disappeared. As she read through the packet, she swiftly grabbed out all of her clothes. They were sitting on top of her chest of drawers, ready to be used.

Hitori dressed herself for the mission as the sun was barely creeping up on the horizon. Her cell was meeting at dawn so she would be perfectly on time. She had already laid her weapons out on her coffee table like she usually did when she was expecting to get a mission or when she was on call, so once she had put on her ANBU standard issue gear, with her medical apron and extra scroll pockets, weapons came next. A kunai in each boot, the press of the handle against her calves was familiar. Her shuriken in a pouch on her right hip and her left thigh had her throwing knives sheathed in a holster. She placed her ninjato strap over her head and pulled her cloak on. The last was her mask, and once she had fastened it onto her head, she took a breath to steel herself.

She was ready.

In a swirl of leaves, she reappeared at the village gate and one other member of her cell was there. The other two arrived within the next three minutes and they headed out. In the mission packet she had read, it said that they had to stop a siege on a nearby farmstead. The country patrol had spotted in and reported back about ten minutes before their cell has been dispatched. Apparently, they were trapped inside and under threat of death for not giving up their land to the criminals. For it to be done legally, which meant they wouldn't be punished, the owner had to sign paperwork. Her cell was supposed to figure out who the criminals were, and then stop them without innocent people getting hurt. It made perfect sense why she was placed on the mission, as she could listen in and assess the situation so they could deal with it the right way. The report stated that the criminals appeared to be bandits who were known to operate in that area and had tried this before. It seemed that every time they got caught, another group of them appeared shortly after. Chances were they only sent just enough men to secure their targets, especially since they never dealt with villages or farms that we anywhere near Konoha. If they did, it would be suicide but ANBU travelled especially fast so they hoped they would reach the farm in time.

It took a little over an hour for them to get there, and they were going at full pace. Hitori had carefully assessed and rationed her chakra well for the trip there and had also memorised the chakra signatures of her cell. Once they had arrived, they slowed on approach to survey and do reconnaissance before they made a plan. The Captain today was Gruff although she was obviously referring to him as Captain today.

"In position Captain. Give me a few minutes to get some intel." She spoke through their comms system and she heard a brief grunt in reply.

She began by focusing her chakra and reaching through shadow to listen in from the inside of the farmstead. The family inside were clearly terrified and she knew that the other cell members were assessing how the bandits were moving and getting their total number while she focused on figuring out the finer details. Peering into the house, she saw that the farmers family were in the kitchen, with two guards. One was sitting in the kitchen across from them, and the other was guarding the door. There wasn't a backdoor that they could enter through, however there was a window that they could force their way through if needed. She overheard some of the conversation with the guards as well. Once she had completed her general assessment, she reported back in.

"Captain. There is four civilians inside and two guards. Apparently the father is the owner and they are waiting for his return so he can sign the paperwork so they can legally own the property. There is no back door but there is a window that is just large enough for someone to get through. The rest of the building is fairly secure, so limited escape routes. I would suggest a convergence attack, come in from as many directions as we can." Her voice was low and sharp, and she appreciated that Gruff knew how handy her skills were and let her give suggestion as she could see more than the rest.

"There is 12 men in total and we have confirmed a total of six identities from the Bingo Book. They aren't highly ranked, but their numbers concern me." Gruff replied, his voice the same as usual but with a serious tone.

"Any specific abilities we need to be aware of, Captain?" Fugeuchi whispered quietly.

"Nothing is listed for five of them. One however apparently is talented with Doton jutsu. We will rely on our water user to counter him." Inari was the water user in the group and Hitori knew that they could always combine with her Raiton to strengthen their attack against him.

Inari piped up next. "In position Captain. I can see five from my position. They are certainly on guard."

"Alright. Here is the plan. Let's flood the grounds outside the house and that will allow Yami to use her Raiton chakra. That will at least take them by surprise and disable a few of them. Then we need to get inside and protect the civilians. I'll get in position underground and come up through the floor in the house and take care of the two guards inside. After that, it will be a shit fight to take out as many as we can."

Although no one else could see her, she nodded and readied some explosive tags. Her favourite tactic currently was to place it underneath the feet or on the backs of her enemies and let it explode and blow them sky high. She had grinned darkly when Itachi complimented her on her creativity. As carefully as she could, once the Captain gave the command for them to prepare, she placed a few on the ground surrounding the house where there were men patrolling and one or two on backs where she could reach. Unfortunately, some were facing the wrong way and there was no shadow for her to utilise. Inari had begun to start slowly flooding the area around the house, and Gruff was using Doton jutsu to control where the water would flow, ensuring that there was clay that would help direct the water to the right places. Fugeuchi had Futon as his first release but he had also could use Suiton somewhat and he began helping Inari and Hitori listened to them chatter quietly until they were ready.

Hitori saw one of the bandits began to notice the ground getting muddier and she ushered them to hurry up so she could strike. He called out to his friend who stood up from his seat and they called out to the others near them who noticed as well.

"Yami, now!" Gruff hissed with his small tinny voice in her ear and she knew that she couldn't do enough damage unless she was right there.

She couldn't control her jutsu and use another powerful Raiton just yet. Although that had been her main focus recently, it was difficult and she wasn't confident enough to use it in the field. So instead, she materialised right in the middle of the biggest group and stuck her hands on the ground and blasted out as much Raiton chakra as she could without wasting it. At least seven were caught, the ground not wet enough for the others to be affected. Inari and Fugeuchi began to charge in, and she felt Gruff appear within the house. She knew that she needed to get back out of the fray before the set the tags off and leapt up to the nearest tree and gave the signal that she was setting them off. It was timed perfectly and the other two went past her position just as she set them off and it gave them cover from the smoke to enter under and start dispatching their foes.

"Civilians are safe inside. I'm coming out to help." Gruff confirmed and she knew that he had placed them inside chakra netting so that anyone trying to attack them would be slowed down. He could always tell her to go in if they needed defending as well.

Her explosive tags had taken out three and severely injured one more who was out cold and she could feel chakras rising and falling. Fugeuchi got hit with a kunai and she jumped in and fought back to back with him and healed up his wound as best she could whilst in the fray. It had gone between his ribs but wasn't too deep and she was done quickly. Gruff ordered her to check on the family and she flickered inside and confirmed that they were still safe and unharmed before she came back out into the fray. As she emerged from the farmhouse, a deafening scream sounded directly into their ears from the earpiece and also from being close by.

It was Inari.

Hitori immediately felt his chakra fluctuate rapidly and rushed over to him. Gruff covered her as she inspected their cell mate. His right leg had been completely crushed by a leg a Doton jutsu and she wouldn't be able to save it. His femoral artery was severed and if she didn't work fast then he would die of blood loss. Gruff was struggling with his battle with the Doton user as he was unable to counter it with a elemental weakness and Fugeuchi had to try and deal with the rest of them while keeping them away from Hitori. If the medic died, so did the cell.

They were outnumbered and they were going to die. Hitori knew that this was a bad situation but Inari spoke first and made the decision for her.

"Give me all your exploding tags and take the civilians away. I'll do the rest." Inari's voice was weak and laboured and she hated hearing him like that. Usually he was so bright and funny and always so witty. If anyone could think of something funny faster than Inari, then they were some sort of superhuman.

"No, I can save you, it's okay!" She poured chakra into her friend's body but she was struggling to contain the blood loss and stop him from going into shock. His artery was too badly damaged for her to fix quickly.

"Yami, I need you!" She heard Gruff yell in her ear. He was at least ten metres away and she would need to leave Inari first to heal him.

"But Fox is dying!" She replied with just as much desperation, ensuring she used Inari's codename.

"I'll take some exploding tags and finish them off, just take the civilians and get out of here!" Inari wouldn't be ignored and she grit her teeth.

"Are you sure?" She heard Gruff asked as evenly as he could and heard a grunt of pain from his opponent. Fugeuchi was struggling and she knew that he needed help or he would go down too.

"Do it." Inari was uncharacteristically serious but she knew that it was the only way. Either Inari died or they all died.

"Here." She grabbed her tags from her pocket and pushed them into his hand and gave him an injection of adrenaline to keep him going and used a small amount of Katon chakra to effectively cauterise his leg to slow the bleeding long enough to keep him alive.

She flickered inside and released the netting and told them to go out the window and run. The three of them would keep them busy while they escaped.

"Go! Get behind the tree cover and don't look back!" She commanded them and watched as they started to funnel out the window with haste.

Disappearing through the shadows and back outside, she let cold rage take over. Her ninjato rung as she drew it from its sheath and she readied to try something she hadn't done before in the field. Within a breath, she allowed herself to flow through the shadows smoothly, like water and cut through half of Fugeuchi's opponents before she couldn't hold it up any longer. She killed three and disabled one by the time she was done, but it would exhaust her chakra if she continued. Then she began fighting the last one near her. Gruff and Fugeuchi still had seven between them when Inari gave the signal. All three of them body flickered out of range of the explosion and watched exploding tags do their job, knowing that Inari was going up with them. Hitori scowled behind her mask, although she knew that there was nothing she could have done. Inari had been injured far too early, just a lucky shot with the Doton jutsu.

That's all it was. Bad luck.

Or that's what she tried to tell herself as they went and checked over the civilians. The mother had a few injuries from being beaten for information on where her husband was but it was mostly superficial. The eldest son had three broken fingers for the same reason and a fractured cheekbone, and the two smaller children were thankfully unharmed. Once they had looked after them, they escorted them to the closest town where the father had been and reunited them. Gruff explained briefly and informed him that there would be some people from Konoha arriving at their land shortly to help them with repairs. Some of the townspeople offered to help as well and they went on their way.

Although they were pleased that they could save the farmers family, Inari's death weighed heavily upon them. Hitori would miss him terribly. She had lost comrades before, but not like this. There had been deaths on missions, comrades being killed by enemies. She had lived through the war for goodness sake! But until now she hadn't lost comrades because she couldn't heal them quick enough and help her squad. She sighed heavily. There was no point thinking like that. Even Sakura would struggle to heal a severed femoral artery along with everything else. So she tried her best to stop blaming herself, though she spent most of the return trip doing exactly that.

When they arrived back in Konoha, Kotetsu and Izumo noted immediately that they were a man short. They bowed grimly and gave their condolences on their way through the gate and all three of them headed straight to HQ. Gruff checked in with Itachi while Hitori sat down to do her medical report. It was going to be hard to focus but she buckled down and got it done.

As exhausted as she was, she just hoped she didn't lose her sanity by the time she completed her report...


	20. Comrades

**Chapter 20 - Comrades**

Hitori was in HQ and had just finished up her medic report. So far, she had managed to hold it in and keep herself together but she was finding it more difficult as time went on. Carefully, she took a calculated breath and stood up from the desk, and winced at the sound of the chair scraping on the floor. With her hands on the desk, she took another breath to ease her frustration from the noise of the chair and grabbed her paperwork. She headed straight to the Commander's office and bowed in the doorway. He granted her entry and she stepped up to his desk and handed him the report.

Thus far, he hadn't looked up at her and she was glad for it. She had a stranglehold on her emotions and if he looked at her with that softened gaze that she enjoyed so much, she knew she would lose it. Maybe, just maybe, he knew that as well.

"Thank you." He barely whispered it, as if he had almost forgotten to say it.

He kept his head down and finished making his notes and she took this as her sign to leave. Turning away, she heard him call her name and spun back the way she came.

"I'll be finished in an hour." He was as quiet as always, but his voice held that quiet concern that told her he would be there for her later.

She nodded once and left, heading straight back home. Once she had opened her front door, everything became an effort. Closing the door behind her tired her out to the point where she had to sit down to take her shoes off. After she had managed that, she didn't even bother getting back to her feet and crawled into her bathroom and get undressed. She still had blood all over her, and barely reached up to turn the cold tap on and let it blast over her. She wasn't bothered to move to reach the hot tap. Although she had no idea how long she stayed in there for, she hopped out, and actually stood up to use the toilet. On her way out, she grabbed some clean clothes hanging over a chair and put them on as she shuffled heavily over to her lounge. She laid down in the fetal position on it, her back facing outwards, and just focused on her breathing. Conveniently, her tv remote was next to her head and she hit the power button so that there was some noise in her apartment.

Before she knew it, it must have been an hour as she felt Itachi approach her front door. He came straight in and closed the door behind him with a soft click. She didn't look over but she heard the rustling of a bag and a few noises from the kitchen. After another minute or so, he began bringing things over and placing them down on the coffee table. The lounge moved signalling that he had sat down next to her and she finally decided to sit up.

Itachi had brought sandwiches and tea from their favourite cafe and she could have cried then and there but she knew that he would be cross with her if she didn't eat. She didn't hesitate to grab one of the sandwich halves and began to eat slowly. The tea was the perfect temperature and she sipped it carefully once she had finished an entire sandwich on her own. He was silent while they ate and she barely even felt his gaze on her, which was abnormal. Usually he looked at her frequently, for reasons that she wasn't privy to. She assumed he was watching the tv and didn't think of it.

Once they finished eating, he cleaned up their rubbish and even wiped down the table with a damp cloth. For someone who wasn't great with people, he was certainly great at helping her feel better. Just his calm presence was comforting in itself. Bringing her food and tea was brilliant.

"Thank you, Itachi." It took all she had to keep her voice stern as she stared at the now clean coffee table.

He walked back over from the kitchen and sat down and simply waited for her. She wasn't sure what he was expecting her to do, whether it was to talk, scream or cry. It certainly didn't help that she didn't know what she wanted to do yet. It took her awhile but she decided to look at him.

Calm as always, he was half facing toward her with his arms crossed over his chest. His expression was what did her in though. Slightly downturned mouth, brow pulled together, and his dark eyes held complex things even she could not understand. He held her gaze for as long as she allowed before she began to sob, her body tensing with the effort. Carefully he placed a hand on her back as she leant over. She felt his thumb move against her, the cloth of her shirt moving with it. The simple gesture intended to comfort her made her cry more because she had never let anyone see her like this, but he didn't judge or look down on her. Instead, he was trying to help her feel better and support her. Even after everything he had seen first hand, he still knew how she felt and wanted to help her.

"I really tried, Itachi. I tried so hard." She cried into her hands and felt him move closer.

Hitori adjusted with him when he moved his hand to her shoulder and pulled her toward him. She relaxed and let herself fall against his chest, burying her head into him as much as she could all the while she cursed about her failure under her breath. He ran his fingers through her hair as she cried deeply.

"But I failed!" She choked out mid sob and heard him sigh.

The hand in her hair moved to her chin and he lifted her head so she would look at him.

"You did not fail. Medics cannot change the past or turn back time. You are only human." He stared into her bloodshot grey eyes intensely. "You did not fail. No medic could do what you tried to."

She nodded, but still didn't quite believe him. If she was a better shinobi or a better medic, she might have avoided Inari's death. Even if she had made it back alive, she may have died from blood loss in the hospital, but she would have had a better chance. There was a small voice in Hitori's head, repeating Itachi's words from earlier but they weren't sinking in just yet. Maybe in time she would be able to forgive herself, but not yet.

Once she had calmed down, she began to awkwardly pull away from Itachi, knowing that he wasn't too comfortable with physical contact. To her surprise, he didn't let her pull away and shuffled before he closed his eyes and breathed slowly and carefully. She copied him and took controlled breaths with her eyes closed as she leant against his chest. After a few minutes, he actually leant back into the couch, and she followed him, face still buried in his chest. His eyes were still closed and she hoped that he didn't mind her staying tucked into him so closely, although she was sure that he would make it clear if he did.

Normally, he didn't mind her tapping his arm after a joke, or straightening his clothes occasionally, or even when she just brushed past him sometimes when they were in close quarters. But this time was different. She guessed that he didn't mind because she was so upset and was allowing such contact in an attempt to be comforting and supportive to his friend. Regardless if that was the only reason, she was immensely appreciative for it, and for his company.

For an unknown length of time, they both stayed in the same spot, only shuffling occasionally, and stared at the TV screen, only partially paying attention to whatever was appearing on it. Slowly, Hitori began to pay less and less attention to it, and her eyes felt heavy.

Eventually she fell into a deep sleep, resting comfortably against Itachi's form…

* * *

Hitori's breathing evened out as she fell asleep with her head against his chest, and he was glad that she was able to get some rest. He doubted that she would have eaten had he not brought her something. As much as he could, he hoped that he had helped her to feel better or at least to stop her from blaming herself as much as she had originally done. She had done the same thing for him, and he wanted to at least attempt to repay the favour. Her kindness had helped him to stop hating himself so much over the time they had known one another, and it was only fair that he try to do the same.

In her report, it had been abundantly clear that only medics on the level of Sakura, Shizune, and Tsunade would have been able to handle such a situation. Hitori was a decent enough medic, but she was unfortunately not within their caliber. Inari had been too greatly injured for her to heal him, let alone keep herself and the rest of the cell alive. Inari's death was not in vain, and his efforts allowed them to turn the tide of the battle and complete their mission, but he knew that it was no comfort for Hitori.

As she slept soundly, she placed an arm over his waist and shuffled closer. He smiled as she nuzzled her head into the crook of his neck. Even though he was trying to comfort her, in the process he himself felt better. To know that someone trusted him enough to be so close, to be so vulnerable in his presence. To feel like he was valued and cared for by someone who had no obligation to do so, but she cared simply because she appreciated the man she knew. Slowly, he was becoming more of the person that he guessed he would have been, if not for the planned coup and the massacre. He smiled, and even laughed, and felt things, sometimes more intensely that he ever expected to.

One of these things was his changed feelings towards Hitori herself. He had begun to take more notice over the last few months, but his own thoughts sometimes surprised him, especially when it came to noticing things about her that he did not with other women. When Sakura touched him during examinations, he felt nothing. However, with Hitori curled against him like she was, it took all of his willpower to stop his heart from beating so loudly that it would wake her up.

He didn't expect her to sleep through the night, and wished that there was a blanket somewhere within reach, but took a minute to decide that he should move her to her bed so she would sleep more comfortably. As carefully as he could, he shuffled to lift her into his arms and carried her to her bed, being as gentle as possible so he didn't wake her. She stirred once her body hit the cool sheets, but she stayed asleep after he brushed the backs of his fingers against her cheek to reassure her she was alright as he pulled the covers over her. As he went to walk away, he felt her hand still fisted in his shirt and it stopped him from moving any further. She didn't want to let go, even in her sleep and although he wanted to curl up beside her, he didn't think it was proper and left her apartment.

Once he was in his own apartment, only when he was behind closed doors, did he allow his heart to race and his breath to catch in his throat. He could still feel her warmth against his skin, and he could smell her on his clothes. The scent that lingered smelt like vanilla, and he felt his breath catch once again. He exhaled slowly, trying to control his breathing and headed into his bathroom, intending on showering.

Standing under the torrent of water, one hand against the cool tile and his chin to his chest, he hoped that Hitori was still sound asleep, finally getting some rest and reprieve from the memories of her comrade dying…


	21. Alcohol

**Chapter 21 - Alcohol**

Itachi had been sitting at home for the last few hours, and although he knew it was late, probably midnight by now, he wasn't tired yet. He had resorted to reading his book in the ancient armchair but snapped his head up towards his door when he heard the sound of glass smashing from the direction of Hitori's apartment. He hadn't even realised that she was home, more than likely from having his nose in his novel, and got up to investigate the sound. When he had gotten back from HQ, he had planned to see if she was alright, but she wasn't at home.

Her apartment door was still half open, but he knew that she kept it open sometimes because only one of her windows actually opened. She had been away for a week and was probably trying to air the place out, especially since she had been having a tough time with Inari's death. He announced his presence by knocking on the open door and strolled in casually, expecting to see a huge mess. The mess wasn't so bad, but Hitori was pushing the glass into one corner with her bare foot and he felt like screaming.

"What are you doing?!" he said with more alarm than he attempted to convey, and she spun around lazily, just barely acknowledging him. He could smell sake in the air, and gathered that she had been drinking.

"What? Did I disturb you?" she turned back away and continued her attempt at tidying up the glass, and Itachi sighed softly.

"You're going to cut yourself." she paid him no mind and kept going anyway. "You're a shinobi, and you managed to break a glass." his voice became more relaxed, knowing that she wasn't going to listen to his lecturing.

"Ahh, I'm only human." she waved her hand to brush off his comment, and he heard her chuckle softly.

"And you've been drinking." he leant against her fridge and crossed his arms over his chest.

She finally turned to him and he could tell from the way her eyes roamed over him that she was taking in his appearance for a moment. His hair was out, not in its usual ponytail, and he was in a simple black tank top, and stone-grey track pants that came to just below his knees. His sharp eyes didn't miss the way her gaze lingered momentarily and she looked back away from him, placing the kettle on the stove, blatantly ignoring the pile of glass near her feet.

"Yes, I have been. What's your point?" she grabbed out a pot and a package from her cupboards and he just decided to stay quiet and watch her.

Even though she was drunk to an extent, she was still rather graceful and he was surprised that she had actually knocked a glass off the counter after seeing her move around fairly well. It was only the delay in her reactions, and slowed movements that made it obvious. Shinobi were usually fairly good at doing normal things while under the influence. She moved around him carefully when she grabbed a pair of chopsticks from her drawers.

Her stove element clicked to life until flame appeared and she placed the pot down after half filling it with water. She opened the brightly coloured packaging and placed the dry noodles in the water which soon came to the boil. Quietly, he watched her make her late night snack and stayed quiet. Hitori turned the element off after a few minutes and placed the pot on a hot mat on the counter behind her. She stirred the contents until she was satisfied and blew on a mouthful before shovelling it in at an alarming pace.

"Did you not eat dinner?" He asked her with a teasing hint to his tone.

"You know what I heard today?" She ignored his question completely. "I heard three ladies who must have been in their sixties talking about a handsome young man with long dark hair who helped one of them with her shopping this morning." Her tone was purposely dramatic and melodic.

She turned to him briefly and smirked darkly. He figured that she had a point to her story and waited patiently for her to finish two more mouthfuls of noodles before she continued her tale. As per usual, she did everything in outbursts, a mouthful, then half of some epic tale, then more food, as so on. It was something that he'd always found rather amusing about her, and it was always funny.

"Apparently, one of her bags broke and he helped her carry her things back to her house." Her voice was purposely over dramatised. "They were flitting about talking about how young and handsome he was."

"Is there a point to your story?" He prompted her after she stayed silent for a moment.

"Mmm. I just thought it was funny that old ladies have a crush on you. You'll have a fan club in no time!" She tilted her head right back and cracked up laughing like a mad woman.

Itachi couldn't resist his own soft chuckle but he found Hitori's amusement much funnier than her story. Even when he was younger, there had been a few old ladies in the village who liked him because he had helped them on occasion. It was amusing that it had happened once again now that he was back. He just thought it was the courteous thing to do. But he wasn't interested in how the old ladies of Konoha felt about him.

He wanted to know how what Hitori saw when she looked at him and what she felt for him. If and how she saw him as a man, and as a person.

"I'm afraid I have no interest in women older than me." He responded as she finally slowed her laughter to continue eating.

"Is that right? What is your type then, Uchiha?" She asked with her mouth half full. Her question was meant to be a jab, but he found he could only answer her seriously.

"Someone who can see the man I am underneath my faults and flaws. A woman who can make me feel like I am wanted and loved. Someone who makes me feel like I am good enough for her, despite how broken I am."

She glanced sidelong and sobered at his serious tone, as she slurped a mouthful of noodles awkwardly. Once she swallowed, she stood up to her full height and stared at her bowl with unfocused, sad eyes. Her bottom lip came between her teeth and she sighed softly, but he could see her shoulders drop. A wistful smile came across her face and he could see a tinge of sadness in her eyes as she looked at him for a long moment. It wasn't awkward anymore, just strangely silent as she analysed him briefly.

"I hope you find someone like that. You deserve happiness, Itachi." Her sudden seriousness somewhat surprised him, but he should be used to her occasional bursts of profundity. As usual, her mood changed rapidly. He was surprised that she matched him.

"What about you?" He asked, his heart hammering louder than it was before in his chest and he waited for her answer.

He knew very well that regardless of her swagger, she was a romantic deep down. A lot of her books had a strong romance element to them, mostly with the guy and girl going up against the world, falling in love and beating the bad guys. It seemed that although she had a tough exterior, she was softer on the inside than she wanted to admit. It wasn't uncommon for shinobi to be like that, since most of them simply cut themselves off from their feelings to avoid pain and hurt if they lost those they cared about. He also couldn't deny that somewhere in his soul that he longed for an affectionate and understanding partner who would be patient with him. Clearly, he was still human.

"Can't say I've given it too much thought. Didn't think I would end up with a love life after choosing to be a shinobi." She tilted her head back and looked up as if she was seeing the stars and not the ceiling. "I always expected to be alone. Live fast and die young, you know."

The loneliness and yearning in her voice made him want to march over and embrace her, but he resisted the urge. His suspicion was right, she really was a romantic. Maybe she had read all those stories to satisfy her need to experience such things, since she didn't think she would have any of it herself. It made him sad to know that she felt this way, but he shared her feeling, and understood why she hadn't expected anything. The love life of adult shinobi usually just consisted of an occasional night in bed with someone you liked just enough and that was usually all. Getting attached just hurt everyone involved if someone was to die in the field. They tended to keep their relations strictly physical so as to avoid unnecessary heartbreak. Happy endings were rare.

"Isn't that the fate of shinobi though? We train, we fight and we die?" Although she was smiling, it was not a happy expression.

"Am I not an example that fate isn't absolute?" He answered her question with one of his own and watched her chuckle softly before she responded.

"Of course. You are  _always_ the exception to the rule, Itachi." Her silvery eyes softened and her smile became a little more cheery. He was glad to see her pain was lessened from her friend's death.

"So you've said before."

It seemed that he had ruined her playful buzz, but he didn't exactly regret their conversation. "I'm going to get some shut eye. Night."

She dumped her dishes in her sink and placed a small, but firm hand on his shoulder as she went past. He turned with her as she headed towards the bedroom, but didn't move from his spot against the fridge. After she closed her bedroom door, he quickly cleaned up the broken glass in the corner and rinsed her dishes so she wouldn't have to do it later. When he was done, he closed her apartment door behind him and headed across the hall to his place.

Turning his lights off as he went through, he took a seat in the darkness on the edge of his bed. He placed a hand on his shoulder, where hers had been minutes ago and took a deep breath, holding it briefly before letting it go. The memory of her sad eyes and smile came to mind, and it tugged at his heartstrings. A woman as bright, funny and kind as Hitori should not have to feel like that. She should be fighting men off with a stick, not expecting that no one will ever love her in her lifetime. Someone like her should not have to be worried about dying without ever being loved. There should be men lining up to court her and take her out on dates, and try to make her decide that he was the right one for her.

Although she was right about the lives of shinobi, that didn't mean that she couldn't try and find love in the meantime. Wasn't it love for her village that made her want to become a shinobi? Wasn't it love for those around her that made her want to be strong and protect them? Maybe she was just missing the obvious, or maybe ignoring it on purpose. If she convinced herself that she didn't love, maybe it wouldn't hurt so much when comrades and friends died in action. But he had seen how torn up she was about Inari, so she mustn't be too good at lying to herself.

Itachi wasn't sure, since Hitori was one of his only friends in the entire world. But he knew that it would rip his heart out to see her hurt. It pained him to even see her so sad and lonely and he wondered if maybe his friendship had helped any. He knew that she wasn't exactly a social butterfly, but maybe having someone to share a pot of tea with on the rooftop was good enough for her. Regardless, he hoped that as a friend he had been of some help at least.

Though he couldn't quite deny that part of him didn't want to be  _just friends_ …

* * *

Hitori woke up and immediately groaned loudly. Her head hurt and her mouth was dry, which was to be expected after how much she had drank last night with Haruko. Luckily, she had placed a full bottle of water on her bedside table and after she sat up, she downed the entire bottle. She channeled some chakra to ease the tension in her head and felt the pain fade into a barely noticeable, dull thud.

Once she got up, she headed straight for the bathroom and washed up. Not bothering too much with her wet hair, she threw it up in a messy bun before she headed back to her room and grabbed clean clothes. Picking out a pair of old, stone gray track pants and a baggy shirt to laze around in, she got dressed before she heard a knock at the door.

Uchiha Itachi's chakra flared from the other side and she flared her's in answer to permit him entry. She heard the door open and piled her dirty clothes together in a basket as he came to stand in her doorway.

"Morning." She greeted with a still drowsy voice.

"Good morning. How are you feeling?" He asked politely, and although her headache was sorted, she was glad for his being soft-spoken.

"Not too bad. Being a medic has its advantages." She answered with a smirk and he returned it faintly.

"I'm going to get something to eat. Would you like to join me?" His question surprised her, but she didn't let it show.

"I am quite hungry, but I am also grumpy and hungover. You don't need to deal with that so early in the morning." She said with a laugh, although she was entirely serious.

"I always enjoy time with you, Hitori." His small smile made her stop in her tracks and she felt her heart begin to speed up.

"Tsk. Don't complain later on if I'm intolerable then." She shrugged to try and hide her surprise at his kind words.

Itachi was always polite and respectful, but this was on another level. Guys didn't speak to her like that...ever. She wasn't used to it; not even Haruko was so nice to her. As lovely as it was, it was also somewhat frustrating. She guessed that he simply didn't realise, but talking like that to someone was a sure fire way to get them to fall for you. Even more so if you were a gorgeous, honourable man who was way out of her league. He was so intelligent, but she knew he still had trouble with his emotions, so he probably just didn't get it. It wouldn't be on purpose; he was much too kind for that. She shouldn't be mad at him for making her heart flutter like that, but the feeling rose within her anyway. It seemed that she was destined to try and punch above her weight, only to fail miserably.

"I'll need to change so…" she gestured for him to move and he nodded before walking in the direction of her front door.

With a confused sigh, she grabbed out a new outfit and threw it on quickly. It was a pair of form fitting, blue pants that were cropped at calf height. Her baggy shirt had changed to a plain black, v-necked singlet. She left her hair as it was, deciding that if she went to anymore effort, her brain would convince itself that she was going on a date.

Since that was not the case, she took one last look in the mirror and headed out to her door. She carefully stepped past Itachi to slide her shoes on and he did the same. He closed the door behind them and they stayed silent as they headed towards the restaurant district. While they walked, she could feel his eyes upon her occasionally, and she tried to remember to stop being in a bad mood. He was nice enough to invite her to breakfast, she shouldn't be acting like a bitch.

"Where would you like to go?" She asked him with a slightly forced smile, but hoped that pretending might help.

"Your choice. You are the one who is hungover." He offered as he glanced sidelong at her with his own tiny smile on his face.

"Mmm, I want...eggs. And toast. And juice." She mused out loud and heard his soft huff.

"This way it is then."

He gestured towards their left where there was a small cafe that was only open for breakfast. Hitori rarely ever went because she wasn't normally bothered to go so far for breakfast, if she felt like eating at all. But she was rather ravenous this morning, probably because she didn't have a proper dinner last night. Instead she had a bowl of instant noodles and that obviously didn't suffice.

They were seated immediately although it was busy, but not crazy and Itachi even pulled her seat out for her before he sat down himself. Hitori's eyes almost fell out of her head in shock, but she buried her head in the menu to distract herself. A waitress returned a minute later to ask them if they wanted to order drinks.

"Could I please get a freshly squeezed orange juice?" He asked and Hitori would have laughed at his tone if she wasn't so distracted.

"I'll have the same, please." She answered and quickly went back to putting her nose in the menu.

She already knew what she wanted but it was more or less a reason to escape Itachi's eyes for a few minutes. It was enough for her to feel like her heart was racing whenever he said something nice to her, but now she was just confused as to whether he was doing all this as a friend, or something more. As strongly as she doubted the latter, there was a faint inkling in the back of her mind that kept her on her toes. But she gathered it was simply her lonely and romantic mind playing tricks on her and ignored it as best she could.

Their juice arrived and Hitori downed half the glass in one go after they ordered their food. She tapped her feet against the floor in satisfaction and Itachi smiled at her. They made simple conversation until their food arrived and the conversation died off when Hitori began shovelling food into her mouth, and she was too hungry to help it. After they finished eating, Itachi swiftly paid the bill before Hitori could realise and they wandered aimlessly in the direction of their building.

For the most part, they were quiet on the way home but it was because Itachi was in his own world and Hitori was happy for him to space out if he needed to. He snapped out of it when she waved her hand in front of his face after they had reached his front door.

"Sorry, I was elsewhere." He still seemed somewhat distracted and wondered if he had seen or thought of something that had started his train of thought.

"It's alright. Thank you for breakfast, Itachi. You're very sweet." She smiled at him and this only seemed to further his thought process as he nodded quickly and disappeared into his apartment.

He wasn't rude or brusque, but it was just a little bit different than normal. Usually he would wait for her to walk across the hall and wave to him from her door before he closed his, but he didn't waste a second this time. Shrugging at his randomness, she decided to curl up on the lounge with a blanket and put the TV on. She didn't exactly have the mental capacity today to read a book, so staring at the screen would have to do.

She dozed lightly for almost the whole day, only getting up intermittently to have some water and use the bathroom. Once her stomach began to rumble, she fixed herself a quick dinner and ate in in front of the TV before she headed off to bed.

Even though she had dozed all day, her emotional turmoil over the last few days had taken it out of her and she had no trouble falling asleep but staying asleep was the problem…


	22. Books

**Chapter 22 - Books**

Itachi had come over to borrow a book from Hitori, as he had already finished the first two from the series. But he had ended up staying for tea and was now seated with her on her couch and they both had their noses in their novels and had been for a few hours. He was very much enjoying it since it had been raining all day and he didn't have anything else to do. All of his paperwork and mission reports had been looked over and checked off yesterday. Any other teams would be coming in either two days or more, so there hadn't been much for him to do. He had gotten his head around the job now so he was powering through his tasks a lot faster. It had given him more time to help supervise training sessions and keep an eye out for possible candidates for ANBU.

He had felt a little guilty after practically running away from Hitori the other day, but it was only because he was struggling with his thoughts. She had smiled at him and called him sweet, and he had all but melted on the spot. Although he wanted to stay with her and continue just looking at her smiling like that, he didn’t know exactly what he should do. Was he supposed to tell her how he felt, or did he just have a crush on her because she was his friend, and she was nice to him? His lack of experience in this area was only making things more difficult for him.

For all his intelligence, he didn't have the answers in this situation nor did he feel comfortable to ask someone for advice.

Hitori shifted next to him, and was resting her head on the armrest and her knees were bent, leaving her feet less than a foot from away his leg. She hadn't noticed him looking over at her and he allowed himself to smile his tiny smile at the sight. Her hair was messy, and half of it had fallen from its braid. He could see from the dark circles under her eyes that she hadn't been sleeping, but was glad that she had agreed to having two weeks off after her last mission. Normally she argued with him, or just stared blankly through her mask at him until he relented to only force her into three days off. But since Inari had died, she obviously knew that she needed to give herself more time.

Her eyes seemed to be getting heavier by the minute, and she hadn't turned the page in quite a while. She was obviously too tired to notice that she wasn't taking in any of the information on the pages and eventually her eyes closed and they didn't open back up. Her breathing evened out and the book slowly tilted forward until it was resting against her nose. Carefully he picked it up, ensuring to put her bookmark in before he placed it down on the coffee table.

Itachi continued to read for roughly two hours until Hitori began to stir next to him. In her sleep, she had stretched her legs out and they were currently resting in his lap. In turn, he had rested his book on them, making sure he didn't wake her in the process. He struggled to focus for a while, just due to her being so close, but he eventually he pushed it aside and continued to read.

She cracked her eyes open and he closed his book before he looked over at her. She smiled at him sleepily as she got her bearings. If he was brave enough, he would have told her that she looked wonderful, even when drowsy from sleep.

“How long was I asleep for?” She spoke as she tilted her head from side to side, stretching her neck.

“A couple of hours.” He replied quietly.

“Hmm. I may not sleep tonight.”

“I think you'll be fine.” He gathered since she was so tired that it wouldn't matter that she had napped.

She began to sit up and noticed her legs were resting on his lap and looked horrified for a moment before composing herself and scrambling backwards. She practically ended up sitting on the armrest and kept her eyes averted from him.

“I'm so sorry Itachi. You should have woken me or at least moved me.” He could hear her attempt to conceal her embarrassment, but he didn't see any reason for her to feel that way.

“No need.”

“Seriously. Just because we are in my apartment, doesn't mean that I'm allowed to lay all over you. I know you aren't exactly comfortable with physical contact.” She chuckled faintly, sounding like she was trying to calm herself down rather than finding it funny.

“It's fine.” His soft reply.

“It's a bit rude of me to do that, so just wake me up next time-”

“Hitori. There is no need to apologise. I am glad you feel comfortable sleeping with me here. Considering how paranoid shinobi are, I am taking it as a compliment. The physical contact is fine. It’s not an issue as I am comfortable with you.” He spoke with a firmer tone than usual, trying to reassure her that it was okay, and vaguely wondered if he had said too much.

She stared quietly for a moment, blinking slowly until she smiled and scratched her head, still feeling unsure but accepting her fate anyway.

“Well, I feel safe with you here. I do find it easier to sleep.” She chuckled awkwardly and stood up.

“I am glad you do.” He smirked at her and she smiled back, but shook her head at him anyway.

A low rumble from Hitori’s stomach made her glare down at herself and Itachi just watched in amusement and tried not to laugh at her.

She hopped up and headed over to the kitchen while he watched her quietly. Grabbing a few things from the fridge, he stayed silent as she cooked them an early dinner. It took her around twenty minutes, and he didn't realise that he had been watching her the entire time. Her back was facing toward him, but she would have felt his gaze and wondered if she would think it was weird or not really care.

“Am I so entertaining, Itachi?” She piped up abruptly and he knew he was busted.

He wasn't sure how to respond and just stared at his lap while she brought over the plates to the small dining table. After a moment, he moved to sit across from her and finally looked over to see her still waiting for him to answer her question. She was obviously used to his long silences by now then.

“I…” he started but still had no idea how to explain.

“You're hopeless.” She chuckled at him stumbling over his words. “I know I'm gorgeous, but I didn't think I was _that_ gorgeous.” She laughed again, but she sobered a little at his blank expression. It was obvious that she was just joking, but she seemed to figure out what his expression meant.

It was getting more difficult for him to hide how he was feeling from her, since she was getting better and better at reading him. He had been coming out of his shell, slowly, but surely, over the last few months and becoming himself again. After spending so much time together, she was sharp enough to notice his tiny smiles and small frowns and figure out something. Sometimes her perceptiveness even surprised him.

He knew he was busted so he relaxed into one of his smiles and simply raised his hands in a gesture of defeat. Although he didn't say anything, she got his meaning and flushed scarlet for a moment before she looked straight at her plate.

“Uhh, thank you...I guess.”

Itachi huffed faintly at her when she tried to hide her shy smile, and hoped that he had at least given her a confidence boost at the sacrificing of his pride. Not only that, he wasn't normally the type to admit that sort of thing aloud. Especially not to the woman who he found attractive directly. He wasn't sure if he should feel embarrassed at his admission, but he found that he didn't and supposed it wasn't worth worrying about. Seeing her blush was enough for it to be worth it. Normally he was a fairly blunt person when it was necessary, but this was slightly different. He hadn't yet found any courage for this type of interaction.

After their meal, he beat her to collecting the dishes and headed over to the sink to wash them. He stripped off his light jacket, and ran the water until it was hot. While he completed his task, he felt her eyes on him the entire time, and knew this was her way of revenge for flustering her earlier. He was smiling faintly the entire time, not because it was working, but because he was actually slightly flattered. It was infrequent, but he had noticed her gaze linger slightly before, such as when she had healed him after his training session with Kakashi. She had even asked him to spin around when he helped her with the spider just to check him out. So even with his minimal experience, he knew that she found him attractive.

Having flawless self-esteem wasn't exactly high up on his list during his life, but it was nice to feel confident occasionally. It seemed like she was trying to return the favour, and he got the feeling that she knew how little self-confidence he had, and was trying to help. She really did know him quite well, considering the short amount of time they had known each other for. Quickly, he glanced over to her, wondering what expression she was wearing, and he wasn’t surprised to see her giving him a smug, knowing look.

She chuckled softly to herself before she turned toward the TV that she had switched on some time ago. He couldn’t help but shake his head at her, but somewhere inside his chest, he began to feel like the massive void wasn’t as big as it used to be. Maybe he didn’t hate himself as much as he did before, and maybe he was starting to feel like he was making a difference; a good one at that.

By the time he was done, the sun had started to go down and Hitori was snoring softly on the lounge. He had practically cleaned the entire kitchen without realising it until he was done. Since she was asleep, he turned the tv off and walked over to the lounge. Carefully, so as to not startle her, he sat down and gently nudged her with a hand on her shoulder to rouse her.

A loud groan escaped her first before she opened her eyes and frowned at him. He smiled at her in response and spoke.

“Go to bed.” he suggested quietly.

“Ugh. Mmkay.”

She groaned again, then sat up and levered herself off the lounge at an alarming speed, but thankfully didn’t go face first into the coffee table. Itachi let her walk past him before he stood and followed her in, somewhat concerned she was going to fall over on the way. He knew she hadn’t been sleeping, and he suspected that the issue was much worse than it appeared. Occasionally through the last few nights, he could feel her walking around her apartment on the edge of his senses as he slept lightly. Hopefully him waking her up didn’t stop her from going back to sleep now.

When she reached the side of her bed, she flopped down and managed to somehow pull the covers over herself whilst moving as little as possible. He waited in the doorway until she acknowledged him.

“Night Itachi.” she mumbled drowsily, and it was barely loud enough for him to hear it.

“Goodnight, Hitori.” he replied and grabbed his jacket and book as he headed out of her apartment.

He sat in his ancient lounge chair for a few more hours, and read, although he wasn’t focusing entirely on his novel. Every 15 minutes or so, he concentrated to feel if Hitori was still asleep, and was finally satisfied that she was going to stay that way and went to bed an hour before midnight.

Roughly two hours later, he was woken by the sound of a scream and Hitori’s chakra flaring violently from across the hall. Within a second, he body flickered into her room and found her covered in sweat, sitting up with a look of horror on her face. He raced over to her and he could see her whole body shaking as he sat next to her with caution.

“What is it?” he asked and placed a hand over hers that was fisted in her sheets.

She flinched as she looked over to him, as if she had only just fully realised that he was there next to her. Once she focused on him, she visibly relaxed and her grip on her sheets loosened slightly. Her shoulders dropped and she began to get some colour back in her cheeks. Carefully, she took a deep, wavering breath in and let it out slowly to steady herself before she was ready to speak.

“I-I...dreamt about Inari.” she explained in a voice barely louder than a whisper, but it was steadier than he expected.

“Are you alright?” he asked as supportively as he could, and frowned as she shook her head.

“I don’t know. I’m just…disappointed with myself.” she sighed heavily but forced herself to smile at him in thanks.

“I don’t blame you for feeling this way, but you know that you are only one person and you can’t save everyone.” He did his best to try and reassure and support her, but he wasn’t exactly experienced with these things.

“I know. During medical training, we get lectured constantly about how to cope when your patient dies. But it was either Inari died, or the whole squad died. I just hated being in that situation. If I was a better medic...” she trailed off as she ran her fingers through her hair that was swept over her left shoulder, and her shaking had stopped.

“Will you take another week off, please? You need to rest.” he asked, not exactly sure how this would go down. She stared at him with an eyebrow raised as if assessing her options. “Do it for me.”

When she sighed, he knew that she had relented even before she nodded her head in agreement. He gave her a forced smile and shuffled closer to her. His hand that was on hers moved to her opposite shoulder and gently pulled her towards him so she would rest her head on his arm. She didn’t resist and he moved his hand to her waist once he knew she would stay put. It only lasted about a minute before groaned and she sat up.

“Go back to bed. I’ll be fine.” As convincing as she was, he had no intention on leaving her by herself just yet. He knew that she wasn't okay at all and didn't believe her.

“I’ll go once you are asleep.” She huffed at him with a smirk on her face, and he knew that she wasn’t going to bother arguing with him.

He shifted so that she could lay down, and she moved back about two feet to make room for him, and he awkwardly half laid down on the edge of her bed. Leaning up against the wall, he brought one arm behind his head to make himself more comfortable and tried to keep himself awake. He was drowsy as well, but knew that it was a bit inappropriate for them to sleep in the same bed together, as much as he liked the idea. Hitori falling asleep on him on the lounge was different.

Before he knew it, his eyes had closed of their own accord and he had fallen asleep…

Hitori's eyes cracked open when she began to feel slightly cold early in the morning. It appeared that the sun had just come up from the amount of light in her room and she took a breath and held it in before she slowly sat up. She was far too tired to sense it immediately but she heard her apartment door shut, and then felt Itachi walking back to his own place. Looking to her right, the space on the bed next to her was crumpled with use and still felt warm when she put her hand on it. She smiled at the thought that Itachi had obviously fallen asleep despite him saying he would leave once she was sleeping soundly.

Shaking her head at him, she laid back down intent on going back to sleep, figuring there was no point in doing anything since she was having another week off now. Itachi hadn't really needed to twist her arm but she had been too shy to ask. He wouldn't judge her for needing the extra time off, but she didn't want to appear weak, especially in front of the infallible Uchiha Itachi. Once she took a moment to check, she realised that the pillow her head was on smelt like him. It was his usual scent; a hint of smoke in amongst a mix of mint and ink. Smiling again, she snuggled down further under the blankets and closed her eyes.

Sleep didn't come quickly and her head was full of thoughts of the man that lived across the hall. She had come to fall head over heels for him since they had met and she had even surprised herself with the depth of her feelings. It was a welcome thought, although she doubted that anything would come of it anyway. Itachi was far too focused on his work to be interested in things like dating, and even though they were good friends, that didn't mean he would like her romantically. She was more concerned about his well being anyway. He might find it too hard to date again, considering he was forced to kill his girlfriend in the Uchiha massacre all those years ago. She knew that as tough as he was on the outside, he was a sweetheart underneath and only wanted the best for everyone. Hitori had fallen for him because he was so brave and selfless and treated everyone he met with respect, regardless if it was the Hokage or a genin. He was surprisingly funny and wonderfully kind and it made her heart soar every time she felt him looking at him.

With a faint and drowsy huff, she felt herself begin to fall into a light sleep. She was however, very aware of how much colder her bed was without him…


	23. Depth

**Chapter 23 - Depth**

Itachi's body clock woke him at the same time every morning, and as per usual he got up, went to the bathroom before making himself a light breakfast. He got dressed and headed toward HQ. He didn't have too much paperwork when he left the day before but he had sensed Hitori arriving home earlier in the morning so there would be the reports from her mission as well. Hopefully, he could get through as much as he could today so he wouldn't have to stay at the office too long. His dedication was infallible, but he wasn't unaffected by stress and wanting a break sometimes. Things had been quite hectic lately and he had been forced to reorganise and regroup since Inari had been killed in action and he had also been watching over Hitori. It was her first mission back in three weeks and he hoped that she was resting well. He made a mental note to check on her later when he was finished at HQ. Once he arrived, everyone greeted him respectfully and he always made sure to return them politely. Maybe that was the reason why his being back in the village wasn't so opposed anymore. Surely it was difficult to believe that a polite and well spoken young man was capable of being a clan killer and joining Akatsuki. Whatever the reason, he was glad for it nonetheless. Being hated and ostracised wasn't going to help him atone for the things he had done, so he was glad for the opportunities to make it right. Obviously only the ANBU knew that he was the Commander so they knew what efforts he was going to and respected him more for it.

His office was always cool at this time of morning but he made himself comfortable, then got stuck into his work. Although it required his full focus, he found it harder than usual to keep his eye on the task. He found himself wishing that someone was there with him, someone who made terrible puns and had random outbursts for little to no reason. Things were always more interesting with her around. Even bland mission reports and outlines. He summoned and assigned missions to three teams, and finished off the reports pile that was far bigger than he had initially realised.

Finally, in the middle of the afternoon he was done and headed out. He strolled home, not rushing by any means. He took the time to take in the sights, sounds and smells of the village which he didn't get to appreciate anywhere near as often as he liked. There was a fireworks festival happening next weekend and everyone was busy with the preparations and he watched as he walked idly home. After reaching his building, he decided to check on Hitori first. He knew that she had a terrible habit of not getting herself checked over properly once she arrived home from missions. Since this was her first mission since Inari died, he hoped that she was coping okay, and that she was uninjured.

As he stood at her door, he tried to sense her condition but he wasn't good enough with it and decided to announce his presence and flared his chakra. She returned it with a lazy one of her own and he headed inside, the chakra seal posing no issue for him. It was more or less out of habit that she had one, not for any real fear of her apartment being broken into. Any civilians in the village weren't stupid enough and no shinobi was inconsiderate enough to steal from their fellow comrades. He headed inside and slipped his shoes off in the doorway before walking in toward her bedroom. When he looked inside, all he could see was dark hair splayed out on her pillow. She was awake, but obviously hadn't been bothered to move just yet.

He leant against the doorframe and crossed his arms over his chest and smiled softly as she slowly levered herself up to a seated position. Her long hair fell over her and draped along the bed with ease. It had gotten so much longer since he had first met and he realised that he quite liked her long hair. It suited her very well and it was rare to see it out like this. He became aware that his Sharingan was on but didn't bother to dwell on it and he watched as she kicked her blankets off. Sighing in relief as he noticed she was wearing clothes; as he wasn't sure how he would react if she wasn't wearing anything, she swung her legs over to the side of the bed and her feet landed silently on the floor. When she stood up, she didn't stop her motion once she reached her full height and leant over, bending herself in half and hugging her arms around her knees with her head in between them. He wasn't quite sure if it was polite to watch her stretch and his breath caught as she made a sound of pleasured relief before she straightened up.

She looked over to him and raised an eyebrow at whatever expression was on his face and he raised one back.

"Surely as a medic you should know that is quite unnatural." He quipped without missing a beat.

"Ahah, you're funny Uchiha. It's also funny that you had to turn your Sharingan on to take a closer look." Her voice was lower and had a sultry hint to it as she teased him.

She strolled past him and dragged her pointer finger across his chest in a shockingly flirtatious gesture, and he fought off the instinct to lean into her touch. He could smell her clean hair as she walked into the kitchen and he sighed silently while she wasn't looking. If he wasn't brilliant at controlling his reaction, he probably would have went weak at the knees. Instead his heart thumped as an immediate reaction in his chest, but he couldn't quite tell himself that it was merely his body reacting instinctively. Manually, he made a point of switching off his dojutsu, more or less from embarrassment at being caught.

Taking a breath to steady himself, he followed her as she went towards the kitchen and began rummaging through the cupboards and the fridge. She scrunched her nose up a few times and finally stomped her foot and groaned in a defeated gesture. Itachi resisted the urge to crack up laughing at her, and played it down to a repressed snort which she didn't miss. After a quick glare, she continued her current task, making tea. She had just bought a new type from the tiny village market that she always purchased from and she was eager to try it. Guessing that Itachi would be too, she grabbed another cup down and called out to him.

"I'm making tea, want some?"

The kettle began to whistle and she poured the boiling water in the teapot and placed it back down. She guessed that since he hadn't said no that he would be happy to have some so she didn't bother paying any attention to him while she tidied up for a brief moment until his quiet voice sounded.

"Thank you."

Once the tea was ready, she poured them a cup each and gave it to him with a smile.

"It's a brand new one. Swung past on the way back. I hope you like it."

With a slightly awkward nod, he took the cup and saucer from her and sat down at her small dining table. She walked back over to grab her own and felt her hair pulling uncomfortably at the side of her head and pulled it out of its bun in frustration. Itachi's chakra shifted ever so slightly from behind her and she snapped her head toward him to figure out what had caused it. Making eye contact with him, she saw the red and black swirl of the Sharingan and instinctively looked down.

"Geez Uchiha. Way to freak me out, spinning eyes twice in five minutes." she was surprised but wasn't frightened, but his immediate reply seemed to suggest that she was. She huffed faintly and picked up her tea, sitting down across from him after pulling on a small cardigan that was hanging over her chair.

"I apologise. You have nothing to fear from me." he said in barely a whisper and it tugged on her heartstrings a little as he stared into his lap.

"I know that. I wasn't scared, just surprised." she leant down to try and catch his gaze and he finally raised his head and she gently tapped his hands that were linked together on the table. "It's just something that is drilled into your head as a shinobi. Especially once we found out Madara was behind the war. I know that you wouldn't hurt me. I'm fairly used to it now but I've never seen it spin. I'm sorry if my reaction offended or upset you." she explained, trying to make sure he understood that she did trust him.

He stared at her with soft eyes and she smiled at his surprisingly open expression. She hoped that she had gotten her point across, and her smile became a grin at his sudden speechlessness. Usually when he didn't say anything, it was because he chose not to, but this time it seemed that he couldn't speak at all.

The strange moment was broken when her stomach rumbled and she hopped up and returned to the kitchen. She felt his gaze upon her and she grabbed some bread and put it in her toaster before grabbing out a plate and some jam.

Itachi continued sipping his tea and closed his eyes in his attempt to not shake his head at her and Hitori just couldn't help but laugh at his composed reaction. She had gotten better at reading him over the last few months, even to the extent where she was trying to guess what his expression was like under the mask when they were at HQ, much to his dismay. Although she knew that sometimes she was probably driving him mad, occasionally she got a faint huff or even an abrupt nose exhale from him and she would always smile. On a rare occasion, she could get a proper laugh out of him.

Ever since she had met him, she gathered that he was probably very lonely, even though he was back in Konoha, which he had sacrificed so much for. Sasuke had been gone for months on end, and no one knew when he would actually come back or if they would be able to repair their relationship. He seemed to have dived into his work once he had been made ANBU Commander, and it was good that he had something to take up so much of his time. His position was great for the Hokage as it saved her going over the countless mission reports and he could supervise their training as well. It was good that the rest of the ANBU had accepted him fairly easily, but there was always going to be naysayers, and they were still just as loud as when it was first announced that the clan-killer, Uchiha Itachi was returning to Konoha as a pardoned man. Luckily, they were dwindling in numbers.

Since he had moved into the small apartment across from her, they had shared some tea many times. At first, it was just when had something to give her from HQ. But now they would voluntarily seek out each other's company. She wondered faintly if he had bought something and just forgotten about it because she threw him off earlier.

"Did you bring something from HQ for me?" she asked softly, her nose practically buried in her tea cup as she finished the last of her beverage. He stared blankly for a moment before he remembered.

"Mmm." he answered and placed his cup down, reaching into his pocket to hand her a note.

She unfolded it and read it quickly, scrunching her nose up as she went. It was a change of team and she was going to be sent out with the cell leaving the day after tomorrow. After a frustrated groan, she placed the note back down on the table and rubbed the bridge of her nose.

"Change of roster." he explained after she felt him staring at her.

"Yep. I'm on the mission to Swamp.  _Again_." she placed an elbow down and rested her head on her hand, causing her face to squish against her palm. "Ugh, basically an eight day trek in 100 percent humidity with a 80 percent chance of being poisoned or catching one of their crazy jungle fevers. Thank you for that." she said through gritted teeth before she groaned again and squeezed her eyes shut tightly.

"I need you there because of your ability to deal with trauma." He shrugged but didn't give anything else away.

Since she had only been in ANBU for around 6 months, she was getting sent on the worst missions, which was normal. This would be her fourth time going to Swamp on a mission and it was horrible. Last time she had managed to take the right antidotes with her and she didn't have to treat anyone for poisoning the difficult way, but that was just a lucky fluke. Swamp had an incredible amount of dangerous plants with a huge variety of uses, but most of them were best suited for poisons. Since she had hopefully mastered dealing with Swamp's conditions, it did make sense to send her.

The mission was to heal a high ranking noble with many enemies in the criminal world. He had requested ANBU so Konoha wouldn't cop any flack in return. He was currently injured after an attack and required medical shinobi to heal him. It was an urgent mission but since he was in transport currently, they were leaving at dawn tomorrow. She continued reading and noticed that she had been selected as the Captain for the mission, and that fact clicked into place in her mind before she freaked out and read the note over again three more times. They were obviously doing something medically related if she was leading, but it was still a shock nonetheless. Itachi watched her silently and waited for her explanation.

"I've been selected as Captain for the mission." her brow was furrowed tightly and her voice was more uncertain that she wanted it to sound.

"Well done." he offered politely while she practically stared a hole through the note.

"Who the hell decided that I Captain this mission? I'm the biggest space case in ANBU." she put the note down again but continued glaring at it, until she felt Itachi's gaze get heavier. His expression was as triumphant as he could make it, and her jaw dropped as she remembered who made those decisions. "Why?!" She exclaimed loudly.

"Because you will prove yourself capable in such a role." He was as calm as ever, regardless of her outburst. Obviously he really was used to them.

"But I have literally never commanded any high ranked missions before, not even outside of ANBU." His confidence in her was flattering, but her confidence in herself was atrocious.

"I am aware of that. You will be fine. I have faith in your…" he trailed off to think of what to say. "Ability to adapt."

"Good save." She smiled at him after an amused huff. "Anyway, I'm going to back to bed since I'm going to need the extra sleep to mentally prepare myself for this shit. Feel free to have some more tea before you go." She stood up and he copied her until she put a hand on his shoulder to force him to sit back down. There was still half a pot of tea left, so he may as well drink it.

"I would join you but I am rather unpleasant company when I'm this tired." She moved toward her bedroom but his voice halted her progress.

"You are always pleasant company, Hitori. Abrasive outbursts and all," He said with an amused lilt to his voice that she didn't miss.

"Drink your damn tea, Uchiha." She couldn't stop herself from laughing and went in her bedroom, shutting the door behind her. Even though she was laughing, she did feel her cheeks redden from his compliment.

The silver eyed woman crawled into bed, even though the sun had only gone down a bit over an hour ago. Once she was comfortable, she heard Itachi get up, the chair scraping on the floor. Everything else was silent, she heard no footfalls, no breathing or anything else. Just the sound of running water from the tap and the occasional clink of plates and cups. The man was doing her washing up! She wasn't surprised, considering how often he did it, but it still made her smile.

Once he was done, she heard the door creak its way open, as it had always done, and click shut softly. Shaking her head at him as best she could whilst laying down, she chuckled at his effort. She wondered briefly if he had always been like this. Clearly his manners and respect were things that was drilled into him as a child, but doing her dishes was pretty outstanding.

Making a mental note to thank him later, she drifted off into slumber…


	24. Hospitals

**Chapter 24 - Hospitals**

Hitori was heading back to Konoha after her mission had been completed without any problems. The high ranking noble had a messy torso would from a sword, but it hadn't been healing through traditional means, which lead him to request the services of a medic from Konoha. It was very rare to have a medic from ANBU do this sort of job; usually an ANBU cell would escort a medic if anything. But Hitori was already ANBU and Itachi wanted to ensure that the identity of the medic was not revealed due to their clients status. In the past, similar situations had arisen where a client had been healed, then the medic had been requested somewhere else and then been killed because they had healed someone's enemy. Itachi's job was to make sure that this didn't happen.

Luckily, he was great at his job and she had been given a good cell to travel with. It had made sense to give her the Captain's spot for the mission since she would be the one telling them how they needed to complete the job. She hadn't worked with two of the others before and the third was one of the new rookies but this was a good, simple first mission. The only thing he hadn't got the hang of, was masking their trail to her standard. He wasn't doing a bad job, but he was certainly not doing a great job. But he needed to get used to it so she kept him on it anyway.

From her left, the only other girl in the cell, Sayu, called out. "Captain, I sense movement from south-west of our position. They are moving fast. Too fast and too many for a patrol unit." She was a sensor type and Hitori had heard that her ability was impressive for her age.

"How far away are they?"

"Maybe 500 metres?" Although Hitori couldn't see her face, her narrowed eyes showed her concentration.

"Can you tell how many there are?" She replied with an even tone, not yet decided if they needed to check it out or not.

"I can't be 100 percent sure from this range, but at least 7, maybe 8." Her much softer voice didn't travel as well through on the wind, but Hitori still heard her.

"Let's do nothing for the moment. We aren't far enough from the village for it to be considered non threatening, but we shouldn't act rashly." She explained simply and they kept up, not slowing their pace.

After another few minutes Sayu said that they were still following them and Hitori told them to stay put. Their trail was mostly concealed, but if they were bounty hunters, it might not be good enough. Bounty hunters usually had trackers in their group who specialised in hunting down shinobi and if this mystery group was anything like that, they might be in trouble. She tried to best to cover it even more and hoped that it would be sufficient before she caught up and told them to push on at a faster pace.

Unfortunately, they didn't let up and Hitori grit her teeth. They would either have to keep going toward the village and hope they would back off, which put the village at risk and other Konoha shinobi patrols, as well as villages and towns in the surrounding area, or turn back and fight. Hitori found herself wondering what Itachi would do in this situation. Although she knew that he was too smart for her to emulate, she knew that his thought process was always rational. He always recommended for her check it out if she wasn't sure, but she would have to take the group back, or go by herself. But she had a better idea, although she wasn't sure if it would work.

"Let's slow down. If I can put a mark on one of the trees, I may be able to get a better look at them. But if we go too fast, I'll be out of range." She explained as she put two marks on one tree, facing the opposite directions and hoped that would be sufficient.

"Sayu, stay behind me and keep me updated on their position. You two stay just in front of me on the right and left and make sure I don't run into anything. I won't be able to see properly when I'm using the mark." She gave out orders like it was second nature and they didn't spare a second to make their new formation.

Hitori focused slightly on using the mark to look through, but this method was harder to use than using the shadows to put her head through so she could see. However, it had a much better range and this was the right time to use it. The newbie alerted to a tree branch and she focused just long enough to avoid it. Using her peripheral vision to stop herself from knocking herself out on a tree trunk wasn't exactly flawless. The newbie continued to direct her carefully until they were finally far enough ahead for the mark to work and she could see the group.

"It's Konoha shinobi. A large group and they look like they are injured. Let's go back for them." Hitori commanded and they all slowed down and prepared to go back. "We need to support them the best that we can. Rookie, go ahead and tell the hospital to bring medics to the front gate."

"Yes, Captain."

The rookie took off at full speed while the rest of Hitori's group went back. The injuries the group had weren't all life-threatening, but since they were all in bad shape she had to try and lessen the severity while she could. Such a large group was hard for the hospital to handle like this, especially since the amount of staff usually had to drop everything to help emergencies cases like this. Instead, she would decrease their workload by organising a basic triage and dealing with the worst of the trauma first.

They didn't have far to go to Konoha by the time she had sorted everything out as they did it on the run. Once they had arrived back, the medics waiting at the gate took over for the most serious injuries as she briefed them on the way back about their wounds, treatment and severity of condition. They were all home safe and sound and she escorted them all to the hospital for them to get checked out and the rest of their wounds fixed up. The Captain for the other mission wrote up his report while they were getting treated and she wrote up her medical and Captain report and stood up, ready to take them to their respective places.

She saw Sakura walk past just outside, making her rounds through the ward and she heard her discussing a patient with Miho. Leaving the reports on the seat, she caught up to them to say hello, but before she approached she heard something that made her stop in her tracks.

"I'll need to check on Itachi as well, but everyone in here seems to be doing okay. No emergencies currently." Sakura commented offhandedly, and panic ran through Hitori's body immediately.

She grabbed Sakura's shoulder with unnecessary force and spun her around to face her. "Why has Itachi been admitted? What's wrong with him?" Her voice was sharper than Sakura must have recognised and it took her a minute to respond after her surprise.

"He's okay, Hitori." She replied quietly, still a little shocked then sighed and answered Hitori's question before she could ask. "He's on the sixth floor, room 10."

"Thank you." Hitori half thanked, and half apologised for her abruptness before she took off at a jog to reach Itachi's room.

Although she knew the hospital layout like the back of her hand, despite how much she avoided the place, her panic forced her to concentrate on only one thing.

_Itachi._

She skidded to a stop when she almost went past the room and noticed the ANBU agent standing guard out the front. More than likely, they weren't there to guard, but to pass on any messages since he wasn't able to be present at HQ and his job still needed doing. Emergencies arose fairly frequently, so everything still needed tending to. The Hokage had handed over the position to him so that they had more time for their work, and Itachi was far too stubborn to let Tsunade, Kakashi, or the ex-Commander cover for him, even if he was hospitalised. Needless to say, she was cross with him for being so prideful.

As she went to walk in, the ANBU agent moved to stand in front of her and went to speak, but she wasted no time grabbing the hand they had outstretched and stepped into them, her back against their chest. With her weight underneath them, she used a throwing technique and launched them straight over her to land flat on their back in the hallway before she stormed in the door. She heard the agent coughing and spluttering after having the wind knocked out of them as she walked over to Itachi's bedside. It looked like he had been asleep, but he roused as the sound of the tussle.

Once his eyes focused on her, he sat up a little and frowned at her. She let out the breath she had held in since she heard Sakura speak his name earlier, and snatched his chart from the end of the bed and looked it over. He stayed silent and she knew exactly why. Carefully, she placed the chart back where it belonged and slid down to sit on the floor with her head against the bed, her knees pulled to her chest. His chart just reaffirmed what she already knew, but she had hoped that it wasn't a problem since he had been treated consistently by Sakura. It began to explain why he still got migraines so frequently, even if he hadn't been using his Sharingan, as his body was simply too damaged to fight these things away. He was in such brilliant physical shape, and it was probably the only thing that helped his weak condition. Maybe it was the reason why he hadn't died years ago from his illness. It might have been the only thing that helped him survive after Madara had taken his body. She hadn't seen him have any coughing fits, but then again he might be good at suppressing them. The lingering damage that had already been done couldn't be fixed, regardless how good a medic Sakura was. Even Tsunade must have helped Sakura heal the worst of it once he had arrived back in Konoha. Sakura was well practiced at healing damage from Sharingan use, thanks to Kakashi, but his illness wasn't curable, even by medical ninjutsu. The years of damage since he had gotten sick had made any chance of that impossible.

Sakura came in through open door before either of them could say anything, obviously following after Hitori. She must have helped up the ANBU agent as they were back standing again. She closed the door behind her, and looked over to Itachi with a smirk.

"I told you she would fight her way in here if she needed." she looked between them both with a knowing glint in her eyes.

"I didn't doubt her." Itachi replied with mirth.

"Sorry for making a fuss." Hitori piped up quietly, knowing that she should have behaved better. Her emotions got the better of her.

"And you say that I'm scary." Sakura grabbed Itachi's chart from above her head and made a few notes. "Haruko will be mad at you." she tilted her head to indicate to the ANBU agent and Hitori sighed.

"I'll apologise later." she kept her eyes on the wall in front of her. She sighed heavily and Sakura replaced the chart.

"I'll let you off since you helped that other team today. I'll leave you pair to...talk. I'll go get your discharge papers." She went out the door and closed it behind her, and it became quiet again.

"Hitori…" Itachi started, but paused for her to confirm that she was listening.

"Mmm."

"I am alright."

She scoffed and he stayed silent. "Bullshit."

He remained silent. She presumed that this silence was because he didn't know what to say or how to say whatever was in his head. For another moment, she couldn't bear to say what was going through her head, because she was deathly afraid of his answer. But she pulled every ounce of courage that she had, and asked anyway.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she tried to sound tough, but there was no fight left in her voice. Was it because he didn't actually care enough about her to tell her? Did he not want to worry her? Why did he keep it a secret from her of all people? Even if it wasn't meant to be public knowledge, she was a medic for christ's sake. Everytime she had helped him with migraines, she hadn't paid attention to anything else.

"Sakura and the Hokage have been treating me since I've returned. I did not believe there was a cause for alarm." He answered quietly, almost like he already knew she was going to ask.

"You haven't been sleeping well, and you ended up catching a fever after a migraine and relapsing, hmm?" She sighed exasperatedly.

The silence was heavy between them and she could practically hear the cogs turning in Itachi's head.

"How long have you known for?"

"A few months." He stayed quiet until she elaborated. "You know when I went on that mission to the border with Rain? Well, when I got back and handed in the report, you looked up at me with your Sharingan on, like you couldn't focus on me. I helped treat Kakashi once before and seen on his file that he was slowly going blind from the Sharingan and I checked your file to see if I could find out if the same thing was happening to you. I wasn't sure if you would be affected because you are a full blooded Uchiha. I noted your massive amounts of times being at the hospital, especially once you got back and concluded that it couldn't just before for your eyes getting worked on. I figured something was amiss, I just didn't know what. Of course, there are no specific details on your file. I never wanted to check personally because I didn't think it was right to invade your privacy like that." She noted that her voice got quieter and less confident the more she spoke.

He didn't saying anything but she could practically hear him nod at her answer. She knew that there wasn't much he would probably want to say in reply, so she didn't bother with pestering him to like she normally would.

"I may act like a space case sometimes, but it's only cause I can't let everyone know that I'm a super intelligent, prodigal genius." She chuckled softly to try and lighten the mood. "I have learnt a few things from you, more or less."

She heard him move and his feet land on the floor, so she quickly stood up to help him without thinking. He smiled but nodded to say that he was alright so she turned away and walked over to the window. He followed her slowly and leaned against the window sill just like she was. Keeping her elbows on the window sill, she brought her hands back to her head and lowered her chin to her chest. She was trying hard to not let herself get too emotional since Itachi clearly wasn't in a life or death situation, but it was difficult. Normally, he was so strong and immovable that suddenly seeing him weakened was shocking, like the first time she treated his migraine.

An arm came over her shoulder and she played her reaction down to a brief tension in her shoulders. He felt warm, but thankfully not feverish and she placed one of her hands onto his arm and sent a few waves of chakra through it. Although she was useless at healing illness and disease, she was still experienced enough to identify most of them. She could feel his breathing and was glad that it was only slightly laboured. It was probably just a symptom of all the trauma his body had been through. His chart had said he wasn't that bad, but he had ended up with a fever and he had began having coughing fits as a result so he admitted himself.

"I am alright. I promise." He spoke softly, as always.

Knowing that he wouldn't lie to her, she nodded and carefully stepped to turn into him and put her arms around his waist. Resting her head against his chest, he paused for a moment before pulling her tightly against him. His suddenness took her off guard and she let out a small noise of surprise before she snuggled into him further. Since he was taller, he had bent his head down and his face was in her hair. She could feel his breath moving the soft, black strands.

They both felt Sakura's chakra moving toward the door and moved apart awkwardly. Itachi sat back down on the bed and Hitori stayed by the window when she opened the door and brought the papers over to Itachi.

"Since you're back Hitori, I'll leave him in your care. You know how stubborn he is." Itachi stared blankly at her and Hitori snorted at him. "I made more special medicine for your migraines so you wouldn't have to come all the way to the hospital even though we can help you more here."

Hitori buried her face in her shoulder and continued to laugh silently at their banter. She was glad that Sakura and Itachi got along so well. Perhaps one day when Sasuke came back, they could all get along, but that might be wishful thinking. Sakura pulled her from her thoughts when she took a hold of Hitori's arm and walked them out.

"Get changed and we will meet you at reception." Sakura called out over her shoulder as Hitori followed suit with a glance at Itachi before Haruko closed the door.

Sakura stopped and let her arm go right in front of him and Hitori scrunched her nose up. She turned her head toward Haruko who she could already tell was giving her one of his 'I'm waiting' expressions behind his mask. Although they hadn't spent much time together recently since they were both in ANBU now, she still knew him well. She reached out and fluffed his hair up with a sickeningly sweet smile plastered on her face, and saw him roll his eyes.

"Sorry, honey." she spoke in a baby voice and heard him scoff at her. Although she said it in a silly voice, she was genuine and he knew it.

Linking arms with Sakura again, the two girlfriends walked back down to the reception area. The hospital was surprisingly quiet, but you could almost put a clock to it. Anytime someone said out loud that it was quiet, within an hour, someone would be bleeding out in the emergency room. So she kept the thought to herself and took a seat while Sakura was handed some paperwork to read through and sign.

Itachi appeared a few minutes later, looking casual, but Hitori knew that he was exhausted. One of the nurses had all his medication to take with him packed in a small bag and handed it to him with a shy smile. Immediately, Hitori scowled at her and mentally cursed her and her ancestors before she snapped out of it. Itachi was gorgeous, and polite; of course he would get attention from the girls that worked in the hospital. He had been in here for a few days, so by now at least a third of the female staff would already have a crush on him. Before she realised it, she had let her head fall back and groaned loudly. Some of the staff and patients looked at her so she groaned again and glared at them all.

"What?!" she yelled loudly, and only Sakura smirked. No one else knew her well enough to know that she was just cranky with herself.

Abruptly, Itachi covered his mouth and Sakura thought it was a coughing fit until he began to laugh louder at her. Even Hitori felt her jaw drop at such an obvious display from him but she smiled despite herself. He took the package off the tiny nurse who was now very confused and thanked her politely and Hitori groaned again before she could stop herself. Surely Itachi knew by now that she liked him, even though neither of them had discussed anything like that. He was far too perceptive to not notice something that she wasn't very good at hiding, although she did try to, for the sake of her pride.

Once he had thanked Sakura and said goodbye, Hitori stood up and waved to the Head Medic before they left. Sakura had a knowing look on her face as she returned the wave and Hitori knew why. She poked her tongue out and heard Sakura wetting herself laughing as she walked out with Itachi with her hands in her pockets.

They walked back to their apartment building where Hitori had to push him inside so that he would go and rest. Once they had reached the door to his bedroom, he glanced off to the side to look at the paperwork that was on his coffee table and she whacked his shoulder lightly. He flinched and looked down at her, and she frowned at him then placed her hands on his waist and spun him to face the bedroom. She pushed him again whilst still frowning.

"You are so stubborn, Uchiha. Go and rest." Although her voice was fierce, she kept her grip on him soft and careful.

"I'm fine." he answered her quietly, in contrast to her forceful tone.

"No, you are not fucking fine. That's why you were in the hospital."

They reached the bed and he all but fell on it when she nudged him, too weak to fight her off. He had frightened her, and she wouldn't rest until she knew that he was. Despite being exhausted from her mission, she would stay while he rested and keep an eye on him. The most recent mission had been 9 days long, so she would be eligible for at least 10 days off. She would take all of them off, and more if she thought that he needed more looking after. Or in his case, pestering the living hell out of him until he listened to her.

Once he had sighed and given in, he made himself comfortable under the covers and Hitori grabbed his wrist and felt his pulse whilst checking him over. He seemed okay, and there wasn't anything for her to be nervous about. Sakura wouldn't have let him be discharged if she didn't think it was a good idea, and Hitori was thankful for how thorough she was. She would take her out to dinner later to thank her; she felt bad Itachi had to go straight to the hospital since she was usually his first port of call. Not that she would have been much help; she just wasn't good enough with that side of medicine to be of much use.

She felt him staring at her, and glared at him full force. "What?!" she raised her voice slightly to get her point across.

He simply pursed his lips and looked towards the window and she knew he was trying not to laugh at her. "You and your outbursts."

"Oh, shush you." she rolled her eyes but smiled anyway. "Get some sleep, okay."

After she got up and walked to the door he called to her to stop her from leaving.

"Hitori."

"Mmm?"

"I…" she turned to look at him sidelong at the strange tone to his voice. "I am sorry for worrying you."

"I'll be bringing you any necessary paperwork from HQ. You are  _not_ to leaving this apartment." she said whilst pointing at him as menacingly as she could.

He stared for a moment, but raised his hands in a defeated gesture when she scowled at him. She waited until he nodded in agreement before she left and returned to her own apartment to get changed and shower before she went to HQ to see if she needed to bring anything back for him.

It was only after she was in the shower that her shaking breath escaped her as she let herself feel the intense worry and simultaneous relief from earlier...


	25. Insomnia

**Chapter 25 - Insomnia**

Itachi woke with a start when he heard his front door open and felt the chakra seal break. Immediately he sensed Hitori's presence but he didn't move since she wasn't rushing to get to him. In fact, he could hear her feet scuffing against the floorboards and rolled over so that he could see her once she stepped in the doorway. There was just enough light in his room for him to see that she was in her pyjamas, a singlet and shorts, with messy hair. She must have been asleep and he wondered what brought her here.

Without saying anything, she walked to the opposite side of his bed and hopped under the covers and snuggled in. Itachi laid still with his mouth open in shock, and eyes wide.

"I can't sleep." She whined quietly, which didn't really explain why she was here but he was too surprised to respond. Her eyes were closed but she opened them widely to look at him after he stayed quiet. "Is it alright for me to stay?" Her tone became nervous.

He wasn't quite sure he would be able to form words currently so instead he nodded in confirmation and watched as she smiled and closed her eyes. She looked content and he smiled softly at the sight. She had mentioned before that she felt safe and slept well with him around, so he wasn't sure why he was so surprised. Probably just because she had crawled into his bed at midnight. He had never shared a bed with a woman before, platonic or otherwise. Sharing sleeping spaces on a mission was practically irrelevant. As comfortable as he was with Hitori, this was new territory and he had a thought about whether this would be a regular occurrence. He had been tossing and turning most of the night, still tired but unable to settle after coming out of the hospital, and she probably sensed it and came around to check on him. He had been a little too drowsy to focus on what she was doing across the hall, but he gathered that she hadn't been asleep since he hadn't either.

As if on queue, she put a finger on his arm and he felt her chakra flow through him in the form of a quick scan. It only took all of 10 seconds, and she pulled her hand back, satisfied with his condition. Although he was tired and needed to sleep, he was hyper aware of where he was in comparison to Hitori in the bed. He would attempt to maintain a distance of at least a foot and a half between them but he was worried that he would move in his sleep. It took him at least ten minutes to calm himself down so that he could try and go to back to sleep but he finally closed his eyes after she began snoring softly.

He had never bothered buying an alarm clock since his body worked like one. Being sick had put him off a little, since he needed more rest. But he needed to get some work done at HQ, even if Hitori had brought him any reports he needed to do. She had been running around for him to help him out and he was glad that she was willing to help, but she hadn't rested much since returning from her mission. Itachi had asked the old Commander to temporarily assign anything urgent after hours, and he was happy to fill in. But now that he was well enough, he wanted to get back to work. Being in the hospital and at home for over a week had made him stir crazy. So he would sleep until whenever his body decided to and then go to work.

Once he finally got to sleep, he stayed asleep until the morning light through his window woke him up. Noticing that he was incredibly warm, he carefully moved his head to look at where Hitori was, and found that they had both made their way to the middle of the bed. His 'foot and a half' had changed to a few inches while they slept. He flinched a bit in surprise, and it was enough for Hitori to stir.

She had been asleep on her stomach and lifted up to lean on her elbows on her stomach she frowned, all without opening her eyes. After she did finally open them, it took her a minute to realise where she was. Frowning again, she appeared to be remembering that she came in last night and began to stretch. Now that she was up, he hopped out of bed and grabbed his clothes to get changed into. Glad that he had worn both pants and a shirt to bed, he headed to the bathroom since Hitori didn't seem to be moving, but her voice stopped him.

"Are you going to work?" she asked with a drowsy voice.

"Yes." he replied evenly, his voice also thick with sleep.

"Do you have to go?" her tone changed to a suspicious one, and he knew that she would be cross with him.

"Yes, I have to go in today. I haven't been in for over a week."

"Mmm." she groaned at him, still suspicious.

"Stay and sleep as long as you like."

"Yah." she mumbled into the pillow and shuffled around for a moment.

Heading into the bathroom, he quickly got changed and grabbed a small breakfast, making sure that there was a portion for Hitori as well. She was just so terribly lazy that since he had moved in, she only been cooking half as much. To be fair though, cooking for two was much easier than cooking for one. He definitely enjoyed eating with her rather than alone. Considering that for the most part of the recent past, he had been stuck with Kisame, she was a vast improvement. He didn't specifically dislike Kisame as a partner; he was by far the most tolerable out of all the other Akatsuki members. Aside from his brutal nature when it came to shinobi work, they had respected each other and made a civil bond through the years. When he arrived back to Konoha and was pardoned, he believed that he would be the ANBU Commander for as long as he wanted, and maybe end up retiring to a small isolated cottage somewhere not too far from Konoha. They had the best markets in the area, so he would return to get fresh produce frequently. Getting his own apartment block and living across from someone who he would consider a good friend wasn't what he expected.

Once he had eaten, he stepped just inside the doorway to the bedroom to see that Hitori hadn't moved, but she wasn't asleep yet either. She had more than likely been waiting until he left to go back to sleep.

"There's breakfast in the fridge." he informed her quietly.

"Tah." she thanked him with a tired sigh.

He huffed and shook his head at her. "Bye."

"Don't work too hard!" she called after him as he exited the apartment.

* * *

Hitori came in the hospital front doors, intending to collect her medical supplies to hat she was missing from her kit. They had a special office where you collected all your standard issue gear and then you could also request special items, such as poisons, antidotes ect. She wasn't missing much from her kit but she wanted an antidote stock up, which usually took a while. So she approached the desk and waited her turn. There was two people ahead of her and when they were done, she placed her kit down and her scrolls that withheld poisons, antidotes and other liquids. Once she had asked them to fill her kit and liquids supply, they said it would be about ten minutes. She thanked the young male staff member and decided to visit Sakura.

Hitori knew that she was there as her office door was open and she went past the desk and said hello to the nurses there. Miho was about to take some paperwork into Sakura, but Hitori offered to take it herself. She knocked on the open door to make herself known as Sakura raised her head and smiled.

"Hey Sakura," Hitori said when she walked in her office and sat down.

"Hey, you bringing me paperwork now? I don't know if I like this." Sakura greeted her with a joke and gave her a smirk.

"Yeah, me neither. But I figured I would come and say hi. Getting my kit filled. Itachi keeps sending me to Grass and Swamp, so I'm always in need of syringes, and antidotes." She grumbled and rolled her eyes while Sakura laughed at her. "I haven't done it since I got back."

"Sounds like you need to go to Mrs Koichi's." Sakura said with a raised eyebrow as she signed the paperwork.

"Mrs Koichi's? I haven't been there in like a year." Hitori mused while she watched Sakura flick through and sign the last page.

Sakura almost dropped her pen in shock and immediately roused on her friend. "I tell all my patients to go at least once a month! ANBU get a great discount too!"

She began rummaging through some paper on her desk and pulled out two business cards then pushed them into Hitori's hand. They had a discount offer on them and a short list of their services.

"If you don't use these within the next week, you will face my wrath." Although she was smiling, Hitori didn't doubt that she would cop punishment if she didn't follow her instructions.

"Okay, just don't stab me in the throat with your pen." she put the cards in her pocket and raised her other hand up in defeat.

"Good. Take Itachi too. He probably needs it after being unwell." she commented offhandedly, but Hitori knew that she was hinting at something.

"What is it?" she lowered her voice to show her suspicion.

Sakura flashed her the brightest smile she could and fluttered her eyelashes. "Nothing!"

"Bullshit. Tell me your ulterior motive woman." Hitori snatched the pen out of her hand and pointed it at her threateningly.

"Ah, you guys should just date already. I know you like him." Sakura snatched the pen right back and narrowed her eyes at her friend.

"I do not!" Hitori sat back in her chair and threw her hands up. "He's a good friend. That's all." she held her arms up in an 'X' shape.

"He told me that he likes you." Sakura waved at the air to make her comment seem more casual.

Hitori face went carefully blank, but her eyes were wide and she knew it. "He said what now?" her voice was low and she spoke slowly, trying to make sure she heard correctly before she reacted.

"Well, he didn't. But he totally does."

She closed her eyes and let her head loll backward, although she hit the plastic top of the chair and yelped. Rubbing the back of her head, she glared at Sakura who pursed her lips to attempt to stop herself from laughing. Her friend had seen right through her; Sakura had always been able to guess what was going on in her head. Hitori hadn't had a female friend before her, so maybe it was just the fact that she was a woman. Haruko picked up on some things, but even though he didn't say anything, she knew that Itachi had them all beaten by a mile. It wasn't frequent, but she knew that sometimes he switched to his Sharingan so he could see her expression better. His normal vision was improved but still not that great even after all the work Sakura had done on his eyes. Nonetheless, Sakura had her all figured out.

Before they could continue their conversation, Sakura went white as a sheet and stood up, stiff as a board.

"What is it?" Hitori asked in alarm.

"He's back." She replied simply, her voice quiet as a whisper but gave no insight into her thoughts.

Sakura called Miho in and informed her to send the next patient straight to her office and Hitori got the gist that she needed to leave. She gave Sakura a nod to let her know she was going, but she barely acknowledged her in return. Clearly something was going on but she didn't bother hanging around. She would make the effort to check on Sakura later today and ensure that she was alright. When she exited the office, she headed back toward the medical equipment office and passed Miho on the way. Even her own eyes went wide as she realised why Sakura had looked so shocked and relieved simultaneously.

It was Uchiha Sasuke.

He was heading straight towards Sakura's office, with Miho leading him there. Normally Miho would have waved at her happily but her face was carefully blank as she showed the younger Uchiha the way to the Head Medic's office. Although he didn't appear to be outwardly injured, he had been away for quite some time on a secret mission and chances were that he wasn't completely unscathed. His travel cloak kept his body completely covered as well. He could have been missing half his torso underneath and no one would know as his chakra seemed stable enough. Hitori kept her own expression schooled as she continued to her destination and picked up her refilled gear. Now that she knew why we going on, she decided to leave Sakura be for the day, as she imagined that they would have quite a fair bit to talk about.

There was someone else in Konoha who would need this information. Although he probably knew already, Itachi needed to hear that his brother had come back. So instead of returning to her apartment, she went straight to HQ. It was fairly quiet this time of day, as most of the shinobi here were either waiting on call or filling in reports. Haruko was there and she gave him a nod which he returned faintly. He had been away for a while and she was glad to see him back in good health. His chakra was low, and it felt tired, but he wasn't on death's door. Itachi's office was just on the right and the door was open. She knocked and waited quietly to be permitted entry and he looked up and gestures for her to come in. His face was incredibly composed and she guessed that he had already found out. Maybe the scout patrols had sent a message in advance and he might have found out hours ago. Either way, she was glad that she came to check on him. She closed the door behind them, figuring that this conversation was best left unheard by others.

Casually, she strolled up to his desk and rocked back and forth on her feet, feeling a little awkward.

"Uhh, I guess you've heard already?" She asked softly, her tone more cautious than she intended.

"I have." He replied evenly, no emotion present in his voice. It was somewhat of a cool response, but she couldn't blame him.

She was worried that Sasuke showing up might destroy some of the progress that he had made in the last few months. Since they had become friends, he joked, he smiled and he laughed. Now he looked like he did when she first met him. Distant, cold and although heartless was probably too strong a word, it was the only one she could think of. If they could repair their bond and be brothers again, it would be good for both men, but getting to that point would take a while. Everyone had taken a while to warm up to him, but now he was just a normal part of the village once more. Sasuke was the strange one now. The brothers shared a bloodied and twisted fate, but hopefully they could leave it behind and become brothers in the truest sense.

"Are you alright?" Before she could stop herself, she asked with obvious compassion and care.

Itachi looked up and stared at her for a moment. Some of the composure disappeared from his face and he blinked at her slowly. "I don't know." His answer was an honest one, as if he had only just realised himself.

"Is there anything I can do?" Although she already knew he would decline her gesture, it was still good to ask.

"No, I think this is something we must go through ourselves." He was referring to himself and his brother. He was right, but if he was finding it hard to cope with, she hoped that he would come to her if he needed it.

"Okay. Just come to me if you need anything. I may not be able to understand it all, but I will try." She smiled as he stood up from his desk but her eyes went wide as he stepped in front of her.

"Thank you, Hitori."

He placed a warm hand on her shoulder but seemed to change his mind and used said hand to gently nudge her forward into him. Carefully, but sweetly, he placed his arms around her and pulled her into an awkward hug. She froze for a moment but her heart melted in her chest at his gesture. He was able to let his walls down with her, even a little bit. She smiled and returned his embrace, her arms encircling his waist which was all she could reach since she was shorter than him. After a second, he relaxed a bit more, maybe because she returned his hug. His hand came to the back of her head and she huffed softly and smiled wider.

She had an epiphany in that moment.  _Sakura was right. I do like him...damn it…_

Only allowing herself to squeeze her eyes shut in frustration with herself, Itachi still must have felt her change in demeanour and let her go. Within that fraction of a second, she played her reaction down as best she could and remembered that she needed to be there for her friend. She smiled at him once more and hoped that he bought it.

"I'm happy to help, Itachi. You're my friend." she surprised herself with how well she played it and he gave her one of his tiny smiles in return before sitting back down behind his desk.

"I don't have anything for you at the moment. I'll let you know if the scouts return with anything that I need you for." his tone became more professional, and she nodded toward her superior.

"I'll be at home if you need me then." she replied evenly, referring to both their friendship and their professional relationship as Commander and Agent.

Hitori saw him smile again once more and she headed out of his office, leaving the door open. She expected that he wouldn't stay at HQ much longer today, probably once Sasuke was cleared from the hospital. If he was admitted, Sakura would give him a heads up so he could see him there. She wondered faintly if Sasuke already knew that Itachi was back. Maybe he came back because of that reason? Because he found out that Itachi was still alive? Or maybe it was sheer coincidence and he might be horribly surprised. Hitori did know that Sasuke had attempted to kill Itachi, but only because Itachi had made him believe that he was trying to take his eyes for his own personal gain. He hadn't known the truth about the massacre, and about what led up to those events. He was so young when it had occurred, but he would surely remember some of the details. The in-fighting in the clan was something that he might not have been aware of, as well as the coup that was being planned by his family. Sasuke wouldn't have known about the role they had planned for Itachi, or about Danzo, Madara and Obito's role in all of it. Now since Itachi was back and he had given a personal account of everything, it could be cleared up. Then maybe they could become brothers once more.

Slowly, with her hands in her pockets, she strolled back to her place and decided to settle in for the afternoon with some tea and the TV. Itachi would more than likely be too busy for her today, so she allowed herself to relax as much as she wanted.

Once the sun had been down for a few hours, she headed off to bed and tucked herself half under the covers. With a sigh akin to a content cat, she began to drift off into a light slumber.

Until she heard her front door click open…


	26. Brotherly Bonds

**Chapter 26 - Brotherly Bonds**

Itachi was working away in his office, checking over some personnel files of three new recruits when Kotetsu came rushing into his doorway, breathing heavily as if he had run the whole way at full speed.

"Commander Uchiha. Sasuke is back from his mission."

His composure was perfect as he nodded and thanked the younger man for his swiftness and appeared to get back to reading the files, but on the inside his entire body was screaming with emotions he hadn't felt in a long time. He was worried, and scared and happy and relieved all at once. It was as if someone reached inside his brain and pushed the emotion switch into overdrive. His fear made the hand holding his pen shake as he considered all options about what would happen when his younger brother found out he was alive, and in Konoha once more; if he didn't know already. He hoped that maybe Sasuke had returned to see him, to fix their bond and mend fences. But he was scared that it might be the other end of the spectrum. He had no idea how to analyse how his brother would be feeling, as his emotions were getting the better of him. They were inhibiting him from thinking clearly and calmly about the situation. Obviously it was messy as hell, and maybe there was no clear cut way to rationalise what would be going through his brothers head. Maybe he was just as confused as he was.

There was no hope for him getting any work done now, but when he looked up at his clock, he realised it had been an hour since Kotetsu had come by to inform him of Sasuke's arrival. Even he couldn't hide the shock on his face and he knew he must have been staring at the page in front of him the entire time. If anyone had walked past, they must have been rather concerned about his fiery interest in the file in front of him. If they knew whose file he was reading, they might have warned them about it.

Someone knocked on the door and he flinched faintly, being drawn from his trance. It was Hitori. She strolled in, appearing to be as casual as possible but he already knew why she was here. His face stayed as blank as possible as he wasn't exactly sure what he should be giving away, even to his friend. He didn't exactly enjoy being powerless, and he couldn't have felt any weaker in this moment.

When she asked him if he had heard the news, he vaguely heard himself reply in a rather curt manner and sighed mentally, feeling bad at speaking to her like that. She was here to check on him, not to have him rouse on her.

"Are you alright?" she asked and it almost broke him. Her voice was so kind and caring that it made his heart thump a little harder.

"I don't know." he answered before he could really think about it, but he knew that it was honest, so he didn't worry.

"Is there anything I can do?" Hitori seemed to be asking even though she already knew his answer, but he appreciated it anyway.

"No, I think this is something we must go through ourselves." Although he was glad that she would be there to support him, he did need to be brave enough to handle it himself. He didn't really feel brave though.

"Okay. Just come to me if you need anything. I may not be able to understand it all, but I will try."

He was overcome with appreciation, and felt incredibly grateful to Hitori. Of course she couldn't possibly understand everything between them. She had no siblings, and no other family, but the fact that she would be willing to listen to him, even just to try and understand a little bit better, was wonderful. Despite her lack of experience in such matters, she was happy to help support him no matter what. He stood up from his desk and moved around it to stand in front of her.

"Thank you, Hitori."

He placed a hand on her shoulder but her wide, silver-grey eyes sucked him in. They were looking at him with such genuine kindness and concern that he felt his heart thump again. Before he could catch himself, he had pulled her into a hug. He felt awkward, but he knew that he needed to do something to show her how much he appreciated her efforts. In fact, he wondered briefly what on earth he would do without her. He didn't have anyone else to talk to, at least not as comfortably as he could with her. It wasn't overly surprisingly since they spent so much time together, but he did feel close to her. Maybe he would go and see her later to let her know that he was okay. Even though she wouldn't make the first move to reach out to him, she would be worried about him anyway. He would see how he felt after he spoke with his brother. It was highly likely he would want some space, but if he felt like company, he would go to her first.

It had been a few seconds, so he decided it was appropriate to pull back, not wanting to make this weird. She smiled at him, and he was glad that she didn't feel uncomfortable with him hugging her.

"I'm happy to help, Itachi. You're my friend."

He felt himself smile before he headed back behind his desk, not missing how Hitori smiled but it dropped as he turned away from her and blinked slowly for a moment to catch herself. To distract her, and himself, he thought it would be a good idea to inform her that he didn't have any mission openings for her currently.

"I don't have anything for you at the moment. I'll let you know if the scouts return with anything that I need you for." He composed himself to ensure he spoke with a semi-professional tone.

"I'll be at home if you need me then." Her tone was semi-professional as well and he understood that she was referring to both them being friends and for work purposes.

He felt a smile once again, and didn't bother stopping it. He hoped that maybe it would help to reinforce that he appreciated her and everything she had done for him. She bowed her head and disappeared from the room.

Within another ten minutes, there was another knock at the door. It was a messenger from the hospital and they handed him a note before bowing and disappearing once more. He opened it and it was Sakura's handwriting with a floor and room number written on it. It was one of the elite rooms that was usually kept for top secret admissions and people under protection, but it seemed fitting for Sasuke to be placed there. Worry and concern rushed through him as he fretted whether his brother was severely injured, enough to be admitted at the least. He did realise that Hitori must have been at the hospital for her to know, and knew that she would tell him if anything was severely wrong, so he managed to keep somewhat calm.

Leaving the paperwork open and strewn across his desk, he closed his office door on his way out and headed straight to the hospital. On his walk there, he had absolutely no clue what he was going to do or say when he arrived. He was utterly terrified and he kept his hands balled into fists in his pockets to hide the fact that they were shaking. It took everything he had to keep his expression blank, but he kept his eyes down as he couldn't hide the inner turmoil from their depths.

He arrived in front of the hospital doors in what seemed like record time, but it was more likely that he was lost in thought. Taking a breath to steady himself, he went through the threshold and headed towards the stairs. Sakura spotted him on the way and waved him over, and they went into her office and sat down. She seemed just as surprised as he did, and her jaw was tightly set. It was almost as if she had seen a ghost. He hoped that it wasn't a medical issue that was causing her concern. The thought occurred to him that he probably had the same expression.

"He's okay. Just worn out." She answered his silent question, and he felt slightly relieved.

"Does he know...about me?" His tone was clearly hesitant, but he didn't worry about hiding it with Sakura. They were the only people aside from Naruto and Kakashi who were 'in' on this situation.

"He does. Not sure how he found out...I didn't think to ask."

Itachi nodded softly, but he clearly noticed how much Sakura was struggling. He felt the same. Vaguely he wondered where Naruto was, and again Sakura seemed to figure out exactly what he was thinking. Maybe it was the fact that they both had similar feelings towards Sasuke that they could figure it out.

"He's away on a mission with Kakashi. They won't be back until next week. Naruto will be  _pissed_  that he wasn't here when he arrived." She wasn't even looking at him, and was staring into her lap. "I'm not sure what he's thinking about regarding you, but he doesn't appear to be angry. Who knows though? He's always been good at lying…"

"Unfortunately, I think he learnt that from me." Itachi took a shaky breath and hung his head in shame.

"It's not your fault, Itachi. You sacrificed everything for Konoha. Sasuke was the one who threw himself into the fire. He spat on everything you did to keep him safe, all because he was selfish."

Her tone held restrained anger, but it also held worry. Clearly, she still cared about Sasuke, despite her anger. More than likely she was angry  _because_ she was worried and because Sasuke had hurt her pride. Since she had met Itachi, and heard directly from him what and happened and why, Sakura's view of him had changed completely. He respected her for it, as she was smart enough to accept a new point of view when previously unknown facts were placed before her. She had obviously gotten angrier at Sasuke about it all too, and Itachi knew that Sasuke hadn't stayed in the village long enough for them to really patch things up. Naruto as well. He felt bad that Sasuke's 'brother in arms' hadn't been here to see him. But it was time for them to sort things out. As Uchihas, as brothers, and as people.

"Thank you, Sakura." He took a deep breath in, and out before he stood up. "I'll go and speak to him."

"Okay," she said with a nod and gave him a forced smile for luck.

As terrified as he was, he knew that despite everything he had done, this moment would take more bravery than he had within him. For some reason, his mind flashed an image of Hitori smiling at him from earlier, in his office. He huffed to himself and left Sakura's office, and headed back towards the stairs on his earlier route. It surprised him, but Hitori's smile gave him courage he didn't realise he had. She had helped him to stop hating himself so much during the course of their friendship, and although he would never be free of it, he felt better every day. Sakura's reinforcement was appreciated as well, but if she couldn't get a read on Sasuke, then he doubted that he could. He hadn't seen his brother since he had 'attempted' to kill him, and that wasn't exactly a normal situation. Far from it, even in the shinobi world.

Before he knew it, he was at the correct door on the sixth floor. The number was 16, and most of the rooms on this floor were all the same. Huge, fancy and very secretive. There was guards on patrol constantly, and each room that had a guard on it held a patient. The guards were ANBU, and he knew that they wouldn't stop him. In fact, they all bowed and he identified who was who as he walked through. They were on a week to week rotation. Most of them took these sort of jobs if they were getting older, but didn't want to drop out of ANBU yet. Some of them were recovering from injury and hadn't been cleared for full duty yet. It was a perfect assignment that helped them continue receiving an income. Since it was practically impossible for anyone to get past the first floor security, it was also common for rookies to get this job too.

No one had been assigned to Sasuke's room yet, and the request from the hospital for a guard was probably sitting on his desk in HQ. He would have to go back and process it immediately after he had spoken to his brother. In fact, it would give him an out if he felt he needed it. Though he hoped he wouldn't need to use it, he was still going to keep it up his sleeve.

Sliding the door open took all the strength his body would allow him to use in his nervous state. His hand was visibly shaking as he pushed it open. Sasuke was laying on his bed, and Itachi almost fell over at the sight of him. He even used the hand that was still on the door to hold himself up. Itachi had an image in his mind of a gaunt, bruised and battered younger brother, but he was glad to see that wasn't the case. Thankfully, Sasuke did look rather healthy, just exhausted. Not even he knew what sort of mission Sasuke was on, and he hadn't pressed Tsunade for information when he had returned the village to be pardoned. He knew better than to push her if she said no.

Sasuke's hair had grown, and it covered part of his face, but he didn't look as skinny as he expected. His hands were above the covers, resting on his stomach with his fingers linked together and Itachi could see the signs of cuts on them. They were only red lines now, but they must have been fresh. His eyes were dark, no signs of Sharingan present in them. There were dark circles under them though, showing how tired he was.

When their eyes met, Itachi held his gaze evenly and shut the door behind him. There was a seat next to the bed, and he carefully strolled over and quietly sat down. He could feel himself wringing his hands in his lap, but he couldn't take his eyes off his brother. Now that he was closer, he was inspecting him as best he could to take in his physical state. He did look a bit skinny; there was still strong muscle present, but he clearly hadn't been eating regularly.

"I can hardly believe you're here." Sasuke spoke first, his voice low and cautious.

"Neither can I." His own voice sounded so similar, now that he could compare.

"When I found out, and I thought I had killed you…I..." A shaky breath was the end of his sentence and Sasuke blinked rapidly and looked to one side.

"You are so strong. I knew if you were strong enough to kill me, you would be safe once I died." Itachi was surprised at how calm he was, but he could argue that he was simply too shocked to feel anything.

"Sakura was hiding something when she talked to me about you. What is it?" Sasuke asked with glassy eyes, but they held conviction that was so typical of his little brother. There was no point in hiding it.

"I'm sick. I have been for years. Being back in Konoha and being treated by Tsunade and Sakura was all that has kept me alive." Sasuke's eyes went wide, but then he relaxed as if everything made sense.

"So you weren't dead. You were unconscious." He huffed sardonically and stared at the ceiling when Itachi nodded in confirmation. "I should have known."

"I didn't want you to. That was the whole point," he gave a half shrug as if the gesture helped. "I knew I was going to die, so I wanted to make sure that you would be okay once I was gone. I hoped that you would go back to Konoha. "

"When I learnt what you did, I didn't know that you were sick. I thought that you had let me kill you to relieve you of your guilt." Sasuke held eye contact with him, gauging his reaction but Itachi didn't bother composing himself. "Then I heard that you had been seen talking to the Kage during the war and then you disappeared. What happened?"

"When I passed out and Obito, whom you knew as Tobi, moved me to some strange cavern. But I woke up and I had managed to regain enough energy to escape after a while. I'm not sure how long I was there for. Once I escaped, I went straight to the front and gave as much information as I could to the Kage. Then I left, knowing that it would only be days until I was dead. Despite all that, I didn't die and I woke up in another compound that seemed to be occupied by Madara at some stage. I'm not sure if I was recaptured by him; I can't recall. But I got up and moved again. I didn't want to die in a place that he had  _infected_." He didn't bother to hide the anger in his voice when he spoke about Madara. The man had completely disgusted him.

"I could hardly believe it when I heard you had resurfaced."

"How did you find out?"

"I ran into a Konoha runner on my way through a city nearby Amegakure. They told me that you had been appointed ANBU Commander, but they seemed to think that I already knew you were alive." His look and tone of voice made it obvious that he had not been aware at the time. "So I returned as quickly as I could."

Itachi nodded and sighed softly. They were at least making some progress. It wasn't exactly like they were pouring out their hearts and souls to each other, but that would take time. Itachi didn't exactly pour out such things to anyone, even to his estranged brother. He guessed that they might get to that point one day, but not just yet. It was something that he hoped for, but he knew it would take time and patience. He doubted that Sasuke was suddenly going to stay in the village more frequently, just for his sake either. And he wouldn't want that. If he was out doing missions, and keeping busy, then that was okay; so long as he was safe. Regardless, at least they were both here.

"Sasuke...I…" he took a breath that shook like a leaf in a hurricane. "I am sorry."

Although he wanted to apologise a thousand times, a thousand different ways, with a thousand different words, that was all he could muster. It was uncharacteristically simple; he prides himself on being much more eloquent and articulate. But he found he just couldn't bring the words to mind. Maybe simple was better in this situation anyway. Just getting his point across was good enough. So long as Sasuke understood just how much he was apologising for. For his part in the Uchiha clan's coup, for being in Akatsuki, for being sick and not being able to be there for him as he grew up. For every wrong that he had ever committed, even if he hadn't directly affected him. He wanted to apologise for not being the big brother he should have been, for not being someone Sasuke could aspire to be. For being a criminal, a murderer and a liar.

"So am I." Sasuke spoke as if he understood the gravity of his words.

"I will spend the rest of my life trying to make up for everything and to be the brother I always wanted to be…" he trailed off, his initial confidence fizzling out, "If you'll allow me." His eyes dropped to his hands and he stayed silent, unsure of what else to say.

"So will I." Sasuke replied with confidence and Itachi felt himself smile and finally looked back up. Sasuke smirked as well as if he remembered something. "Sakura gave me quite a lecture once she admitted me."

"She did?" Itachi recalled what she had said to him in her office earlier, gathering that she had barked at Sasuke about it.

"Yeah…" he chuckled softly as if amused by an inside joke and Itachi smiled again, glad to see his brother could still laugh. "She told me that I wasted your efforts by leaving the village, and instead of appreciating your sacrifices, I spat on them."

He wasn't quite sure how to reply to that so he stayed silent. Although it was good to see Sasuke still had a sense of humour, he knew in his rational mind that Sakura wasn't wrong. It was hard for him to admit, but he did feel like Sasuke had thrown away everything that he had fought for. He had given up everything to save Konoha and to hope that Sasuke was strong enough to defend the village and himself, but it didn't work out that way. It had ripped his heart out to see his brother look at him with such hatred on the night of the massacre, but that hatred was what kept him alive. But Sasuke had let the hatred poison his mind, instead of strengthen it. Orochimaru's influence had no doubt helped that process; the curse seal would have made it worse. Although a part of Itachi wanted to scream and yell at his brother for being such a selfish fool, he just couldn't do it. Having him here in front of him dissipated most of the anger.

"She's right." Sasuke's expression had sobered and Itachi simply blinked in reply. "I didn't know the truth and I couldn't handle the reality I was living in."

"Sasuke…"

"I know now that I couldn't have been told the truth. If I knew, I wouldn't have been able to cope with you giving up everything for me. It would have hurt too much. I would have fought Konoha for making you do everything, and the Akatsuki to get you out of there, instead of join them." His mouth became a flat line, showing his regret at his actions.

"You did what you thought was right." Itachi tried to placate him, but he doubted it would help.

"No, I was selfish and blind. I had people here who were willing to fight with me, but I thought I could be stronger on my own." He looked off to one side, averting his eyes and his hair covered most of his face.

"It's alright. It's all over now." He didn't know what else to say, but maybe just focusing on the future was the best idea.

"I'm sorry, Itachi." Sasuke apologised just how Itachi had earlier.

"I think we could both apologise until we are blue in the face." He tried to joke and lighten the mood, and it actually worked. Sasuke smirked and huffed faintly and Itachi did the same.

There was a knock on the door and Sakura came in. She looked hesitant but she had brought an arm full of supplies so Itachi gathered that was his que to leave them be. Sasuke needed treatment and he needed to assign a guard to look after him, so it was a good chance for him to go and sort it out.

"Sorry to bother you guys. I've gotta get you hooked up to an IV." She looked at Sasuke and still seemed like she had seen a ghost; Itachi still felt the same.

"And I need to assign a guard to your door." Itachi stood up from his seat and moved it out of the way for Sakura.

"Will you come back when you're done?" Sasuke asked with a shy voice and Itachi couldn't have felt happier.

"I will, so long as you promise me you will rest." He raised an eyebrow and waited for his reply. He was beginning to feel like a big brother again.

"Yeah, I will." Sasuke smiled at him and his heart swelled happily.

"I'll be back shortly then." He nodded towards Sakura, who was smiling at their exchange as she set up the IV.

He could have ran to HQ and ran all the way back, but he figured that would be weird, so instead he power walked to his destination. Once he had arrived in his office, as he guessed, was the guard request memo. After he had summoned someone and sent them to the hospital, he made his way back there himself, lost in his thoughts upon the way. It had been good so far, although it was also strange to see his brother after such a long time. At least it was a step forward, Sasuke clearly didn't hate him, and he didn't hate Sasuke. He hadn't been sure how he would feel once he laid eyes on him. But he still felt terrified about how their relationship would continue. Hopefully they would stay on good terms and have a good bond once more. Even if they never became the brothers they once were, it was enough so long as Sasuke didn't hate him.

Once he had arrived back at the room, the guard nodded to him and stepped aside for him to enter. Sasuke was sound asleep inside and Sakura was buzzing around silently, preparing medicines and leaving things in the room for him. She smiled at him when he came in the door and handed him a book. She must have known that he was going to sit for a few hours and brought the book to keep him occupied. He took it with a quiet thank you and sat next to the bedside. Once she was finished her tasks, she gave him a wave and pointed down toward the floor. It was her way of saying she was downstairs if they needed anything. He was certain that she wanted nothing more than to sit there with them, but she was kind enough to give them their privacy.

Itachi stayed silent and buried his nose in the novel until it was dark outside and had been for several hours. He couldn't ignore the rumbling in his stomach any longer and decided that he would leave. Sasuke was still dead to the world asleep and he was glad that he was getting some rest. So he exited the room silently, and thanked the guard on his way out. Sakura was still in her office and he bid her goodbye and made sure to thank her for what she had done today. He was glad that she still cared about his foolish little brother. She would look after him to the best of her abilities, and he would be fully rested in no time with her skill. Once he arrived home, he was glad that he had put another serving of food aside the day before and quickly heated it and ate it heartily.

Across the hall, he could feel that Hitori was sleeping lightly from the feel of her chakra. She must have been worried the whole afternoon and he felt grateful to her. As he stood in the doorway to his bedroom, he wondered whether he should go and see her quickly. He wasn't sure if it was entirely appropriate but he hadn't minded too much when she had done it before. Again, the image of her smiling at him from earlier in the day came to him. Even though no one could see it, he shrugged and headed out his apartment door and towards Hitori's place. He felt a pang of uncertainty as he let himself in and went straight to her bedroom.

It wasn't too dark inside, and she rolled over to look at him. She laid her head back down with a smile he could only just see and he took it as an invitation when she shuffled across to make room for him. Carefully, he laid down next to her and made himself as comfortable as he could be. It surprised him when he began to relax just by being next to her, and his brain that had been running madly with thoughts started to go quiet.

Her arm stretched out toward him and landed on his stomach, and she patted it softly in a comforting sort of gesture. It was almost like how you would pet an animal as if she was being careful not to make him uncomfortable, but he smiled anyway. She was tired, but still trying to make him feel better.

"How did it go?" she asked with a drowsy voice.

"It went well, I think." he replied quietly, and knit his brow together in uncertainty, even though she couldn't see it.

She huffed softly. "I hope so. You okay?" Up until that point, she hadn't opened her eyes, but now they shone silver from the faint moonlight coming through her window.

"You gave me courage today." He placed his hand on top of her much smaller one, that was still sitting on his stomach. After a moment, he linked his fingers between hers.

"Me? How?" She was significantly more awake now, judging from her confused tone.

"I remembered what you said in my office earlier. I knew you would support me no matter what happened when I spoke to Sasuke." His admission seemed to surprise her, but she collected herself quickly and replied.

"Of course. You're my friend. Why wouldn't I help you? You have saved my life so I should  _probably_  have your back in return at least." Her confident tone was her way of hiding how shy she felt about what he had said, and he thought it was sweet that she felt touched by his words.

"We are friends. Thank you." He couldn't help but feel a slight twist in his chest, something unspoken that was confusing him, but he was far too worn out to linger on it.

"Let's get some sleep. Your chakra feels tired." She petted his stomach again, and snuggled back into her pillow once more, but kept her arm where it was.

"Goodnight Hitori." he smiled at her sleepy face before he closed his eyes.

"Goodnight Itachi."


	27. Heartbeat

Chapter 27 - Heartbeat

As he expected, Itachi woke before Hitori the next morning, but he was pleasantly surprised to find that she had curled up against him through the night. His arm was underneath her neck, and her back was pressed against his chest. Carefully, he removed his other arm which had been draped over her waist, and she made a noise of mild annoyance in her sleep. He resisted the urge to laugh at her, but he smiled anyway and stopped moving until she settled again. Slowly, but surely, he pulled his arm out from underneath her and leant on his elbow to look at her for a moment. They were supposed to train today, but since Sasuke had come home, he wondered whether she would mind training by herself so he could go into the office for a bit, and spend the rest of the day with his brother. He doubted she would mind, since she was quite understanding.

Just as he was considering waking her to ask her, she shifted in her sleep and reached behind her to see if he was still there. Since he didn't move, her hand landed on his thigh, and she sighed and settled once more. He smiled instantly and couldn't help but repress the happy laughter down to a brief shake of his shoulders. His heartbeat was almost double its normal resting pace and he understood why. It surprised him that he hadn't figured it out earlier.

He liked Hitori. Probably more intensely than he realised.

While he stared at her silently, he realised that it must have been a while since he had begun to develop feelings for her. Maybe since they first met. He had uncharacteristically gone out along with the cell who had rescued her after the cult leader mission. He had said it was 'because they didn't have anyone else', which was true, but they could have handled it. Every time she returned from a mission, he felt anxiety in the back of his mind until he saw that she was okay. The strange twinge he felt every time he said they were friends was because although they were friends, he had come to want more. The only problem was that he had no idea how this was supposed to work.

He had no idea if she liked him in return, or how to figure it out aside from asking her. That was a terrifying thought. As brilliant as he was, matters of the heart were not his forte. Not only that, he had no idea who to ask for advice. He wasn't close enough to Haruko to ask him, and he felt a little too nervous about asking Sakura. Maybe she would get too excited and reveal his secret to Hitori. Not that he didn't trust her, but maybe it was simply because he would feel more comfortable talking to another male about it. Kakashi would be a good choice as he held the elder shinobi in the highest regard, but he was far too busy being groomed for his role as Hokage.

Despite this matter needing serious consideration and thought, his bladder didn't give a crap about that and he got up to relieve himself. Hitori stirred but he continued on his way and returned once he was finished. She was sitting up, with one hand behind her to lean on, her hair had been pulled out of it's lazy plait and she was casually itching her collarbone. Her eyes were still closed, and he wouldn't have been surprised if she was still asleep.

"Morning."

"Mmm."

"I know we were supposed to train today, but…" he trailed off, wondering if she was actually listening, but she answered his question before he got to finish asking it.

She opened her eyes and immediately frowned drowsily at him. "Are you nuts? Go and spend time with your brother. I'll be fine."

"Thank you." he said with a smile he didn't bother hiding.

"I'm going out with some of the gang later tonight, so I'll just bum around until then. You have any washing you need doing?" she asked as she swung her legs over the side of the bed. Her shorts was so damn short that they were more or less underwear and Itachi played his nervousness down as best he could.

"Uh, probably." He answered and knew he should avert his eyes, but he couldn't find the willpower.

"Bring it around before you go. I'll go and do a load in a bit." She said while she stretched her arms high above her head, her chest pushing forward.

"Sure." His tongue wet his lips as he watched her, but snapped out of it and realised that she had been speaking. "Wait, what?"

"Laundry. I'll do it so bring it over." She smiled at him, clearly amused by his confusion although she didn't seem to notice why.

"That's not necessary." He waved his hand, still fumbling his way through the conversation whilst trying not to stare at her.

"Ugh, I'm not concerned about washing your underwear, Itachi. Unless you wear something particularly naughty and don't want me to find out," She whispered with a playful wink and he felt his cheeks flush with colour.

He marched into his apartment and grabbed his laundry basket as she followed then pushed it into her arms without looking at her, all while she cackled loudly. He headed back to his bedroom to grab a change of clothes and heard her rummage around for a moment before she opened his front door.

"I'll drop them back off when I'm done. Say hi to Sasuke for me."

She closed the door behind her and then it was quiet in his apartment once more. A sigh escaped him at the suddenness of the silence, but he continued getting dressed anyway. Since he wasn't going to the office for the whole day, he didn't wear anything too tidy and didn't bother eating before he grabbed a book and headed out. Although the initial reunion was done, he was still feeling far too nervous to actually consume anything without vomiting it back up minutes later. He strolled to the hospital casually, and gave Miho a polite nod when he saw her at the triage on the way in. After he went up the stairs to the top floor, the ANBU agents guarding the doors bowed respectfully as he passed them until he reached Sasuke's door.

When he went inside, his brother was sleeping soundly, enough to not even wake when he entered and sat down on the chair near the bed. This was why he had brought a book. So he sat quietly, reading away, only the sound of Sasuke's soft breathing, and the turning of the page disturbing the silence in the room. Before he knew it, he had been there for at least two hours because it was time for rounds. Sasuke was only staying in the hospital because he had been away for so long and Sakura had basically grounded him until she was happy with his recovery. If he was discharged, he would probably just end up being stubborn and wouldn't rest properly, so it was easier to keep him in the hospital for the time being. Itachi knew this because he was the same way, and his brother had also inherited the trait of stubbornness from their parents. Clearly he needed the rest since he was sleeping so soundly.

A nurse whom he didn't recognise came in and checked out everything, whilst being sure not to disturb the sleeping patient. She made notes on his chart and left just as quickly as she had arrived. Itachi continued his silent reading until Sasuke woke up about an hour later. He was clearly still exhausted so they didn't talk for very long before Itachi insisted on him going back to sleep. It didn't take long and it was quiet once again. By the time Itachi realised that he was hungry enough to eat, he had only one chapter left in his book. He decided to finish it off before he left, which only took him another 20 minutes or so. Sasuke was still asleep, but he left a note anyway to say that he would be back tomorrow. He did need to go to HQ, so he would grab something to eat on the way and then complete whatever work was there before he went home for the night.

He swung past the supermarket and grabbed a few onigiri, just to keep him going until dinner. A while he arrived at the office, a scout team arrived back. They were a little earlier than he expected, but he summoned a cell and sent them on their way. After that, he only had a couple of mission reports to go over and file, and it only took him a little over an hour to get it all done. He had a brief discussion with a veteran Captain about a new training regime and left the office once he was done.

Although he was usually strict, he just didn't have the energy to cook dinner today, and went to grab takeaway from a place that Hitori had bought food from before. Itachi sat down to wait for his order to be ready. He hadn't had a hugely busy day, but he was still tired nonetheless. He glanced around and looked out into the streets that were still busy with shinobi and civilian alike, walking around on the warm summer night. Before he saw her, he heard her laugh. She was sitting across the street in the bar with Haruko, Ryuka, Eizo, and Kisuke and it seemed like they had been there a while from the empty glasses on their table. He remembered her saying earlier that she was going to hang out with her friends.

If curiosity could kill, he would be dead as he decided to listen into their conversation. They weren't exactly quiet, but his hearing was good enough for him to be able to listen in on them. He could read lips as well; the Sharingan had its perks. Eavesdropping wasn't the word he would chose, but it was probably the right one. He could see their expressions clearly enough from here as well, and it seemed like Hitori wasn't feeling too awkward even though she was with a bigger group than normal.

"So Ryuka, how is Kisuke? You know, like in bed?" Haruko piped up with a sly smirk on his face.

"Oh, come on guys. Do we really have to have this discussion? Besides, didn't you and Hitori have a thing for a while?" Ryuka answered with an equally sly smirk, giving as good as she got.

"Well, sort of, yeah."

"Not really."

Hitori and Haruko answered at the same time, then shared a look silently for a moment before they broke out in laughter. Obviously they didn't have their story straight and Itachi was surprised since he figured that he would have known by now. They had been friends for a while now, so surely he should have seen them together or something. He sighed softly, since it was just his luck that he was within earshot of a discussion that he didn't wish to hear. Surely Haruko wouldn't be comfortable with Hitori being alone with him, especially if he was dating Hitori.

"It was years ago, but it was enough of a thing for me to know that Hitori is great in bed." Haruko answered first, sounding like he was more affirmative than Hitori.

His response made Itachi frown deeply, which was unlike him. Usually negative emotions were the ones he hid the most. He couldn't quite figure out how he was supposed to feel upon learning about this. Was it normal for him to feel jealous, or to let it go since it had happened years ago, as Haruko said. Did he need to discuss it with Hitori to clear things up?

"Damn fucking straight I am. I'm not good at very much, but at least I've got that to hang my hat on." Although he could hear the slight tinge of embarrassment in her voice, she laughed anyway.

"Typical, lazy Hitori. Being proud of something she can do while lying down." Eizo, always the witty one, put his two cents in and made the entire group laugh. Itachi only frowned deeper even though he knew that Hitori wouldn't be offended by the joke and heard her laughing just as much as the others.

"Everyone knows about us. Anyway, I asked about you guys. How long have you been together for now?" Haruko turned the conversation back toward their friends, and pointed towards them.

"Only a few months. We aren't too serious yet. Just testing the waters." Kisuke explained casually with a half shrug.

"Are you guys seeing anyone currently?" Ryuka asked, and watched as Eizo made a strange hand gesture that Itachi didn't understand, but it made the whole group laugh.

"Obviously Eizo is a bit lonely." Kisuke poked fun while everyone continued to laugh.

"It's alright, man. I haven't been laid in ages either." Haruko patted the younger member of their group on the back heavily, almost making him spill his drink.

"What about you Hitori? I heard a rumour ages ago that some chunin had a crush on you." Ryuka was next to speak and Itachi was just as surprised as Hitori, whose jaw dropped at the news.

"Huh?! What?! Who?!" Hitori asked in rapid succession with a raised voice.

"I don't know. Kiba said that one of the chunin he worked with had a crush on you after doing some mission with you ages ago." Ryuka replied nonchalantly, despite Hitori's volume.

"Don't even know about it. Pfft, kids these days." She threw her hands up before she crossed her arms over her chest and shrugged. At least she appeared disinterested in who it was.

"Well, I have a theory of my own about our dear Hitori's love life." Haruko spoke next, his voice mysterious and low as he leant forwards to the middle of their circle of chairs.

"You've got a theory about everything Haruko." Eizo mentioned off-handedly and Hitori laughed exaggeratedly, while she pointed at the target of the joke.

"Yeah, yeah… I reckon that Hitori has a crush on a certain someone." Haruko continued his attempt to create suspense, and Hitori made a sound Itachi knew what her equivalent to saying 'What the hell?!'.

"Ugh, please don't say you think it's you, Haruko." Kisuke said with an amused snort.

"Oh no. Not at all… It's our wonderfully polite Commander."

"Huh?! Where are you getting this shit from?" Hitori almost screeched at him, but lowered her voice quickly since they were in a public place. The locals had no qualms about kicking the shinobi about when they got too loud and rowdy. The middle aged woman who was the owner of the bar was said to be one of the scariest people in Konoha, and she wasn't even a shinobi.

"I reckon I've hit the nail on the head." Haruko seemed to think his theory was sound, and his tone was confident as he sat back in his chair and crossed his arms. Itachi's interest piqued to the point where he didn't even notice when the lady put his food container in front of him.

"Right. Well, let me set you straight. One, that isn't exactly professional." Hitori held a finger up, indicating the number.

"Which isn't a strong point of yours." Eizo commented and Hitori laughed, but continued.

"Ah, I'm just not as rigid as some people…Two, I don't really think that Commander Uchiha has enough time on his hands to think about women. He is far too focused in his work for such trivial things. So there wouldn't really be much point in me crushing on him." Little did she realise, that he found himself frequently distracted at work by the thought of her.

"Yeah, you can't fault the guy's dedication." Kisuke commented with a respectful voice that Itachi would have appreciated more if he wasn't so distracted by the rest of the conversation.

"Besides, only a few shinobi have proper relationships, you know. Most of us just get drunk after a mission and take home our most attractive teammate. There isn't anything to it; it's just physical."

"Wait a sec, is that what you did with me? Took me home because I was your most attractive teammate?"

"Uhh, actually Haruko. I said 'most attractive'. That...uh...wasn't you." Hitori tone was obviously a teasing one, and she got a laugh from her friends in response.

"Hah! You're funny, aren't you?" Haruko gave her a reaction, but he wasn't truly insulted.

"What does that say about your standards, Hitori?" Eizo got a laugh like always.

"Well, to be fair Saya was on our team. She was the most attractive of us all." Haruko admitted with a laugh. Hitori nodded in agreement and gave a thumbs up, backing up his statement.

"As I was saying - although I can acknowledge that he is fucking gorgeous and has the body of god - that I do not have a crush on him." Hitori said with finality, and Itachi found that his face felt slightly warm at her flattering comment, but he was equally disappointed that she didn't have feelings for him.

"He is definitely good looking, buuuut I prefer blondes." Ryuka agreed and ruffled Kisuke's hair sweetly.

"Aren't you pair just adorwable?" Hitori put on a baby voice to poke fun at her the couple, and they both blushed faintly and looked awkward.

Itachi felt a tap on his shoulder and turned to see the woman point to his takeaway container in front of him, and he thanked her politely as she walked away. He picked up his meal and stood up, feeling a little down and wanting to head home and hide away for a while. As he strolled home, his pace was slower than normal since he was lost in thought. She had made it fairly clear that he wasn't even on her radar as a man, and he knew that he couldn't just expect her to magically fall for him. Even if she did, he wouldn't really know what to do anyway. The only dating experience he had ended many years ago, and there hadn't been any attempts or even thoughts towards such a thing since then.

Until he met Hitori, of course.

Regardless, he would have to have some space from her and settle his feelings. She had returned from her last mission two days ago, and wouldn't be back in rotation for another 10 days, so being away from her was going to be difficult. He was incredibly busy at HQ currently, hence why he had been too tired to cook tonight, but that wouldn't keep her away for a full 10 days. He couldn't use his brother as an excuse either. Sakura had mentioned at their last healing session that Hitori would be helping her out, but that still wasn't enough. Although he didn't want to avoid her entirely, he knew that if they hung out like normal, he would only find it more and more difficult to get over her. They had been training together for the jonin exams and he didn't want to put a stop to that just for the sake of his feelings.

As he continued to dwell, even as he arrived home and barely touched his food, he realised how stupid he had been. Hitori had been so nice to him all this time, and she was the first woman who had treated him so kindly in many years. Sakura didn't count since she was still infatuated with Sasuke, and he made a mental note to discuss this with his brother. Hitori went out of her way so many times to help him out with paperwork, eat with him, heal his migraines, and generally spend time with him. He had mistaken all of these things for her having some sort of feeling toward him, and now he knew that it was just her being nice. He knew very well that she was a self-sacrificing person, who enjoyed making other people happy, and he had just gotten himself confused. Frustrated with himself, he groaned and let his head loll backwards and stared at the blank ceiling.

He had made his bed, and now he needed to lie in it...


	28. Nerves

**Chapter 28 - Nerves**

It was a week out from the jounin exams and Hitori was waiting for Itachi at the training grounds. She hadn't mastered the Katon release just yet, so they were doing some last minute practice. She still couldn't perform some of the higher level jutsu with a level of proficiency and control that she was happy with, but she wasn't too bad. At the very least, she would qualify to go for jonin now, since she had two elemental releases under her proverbial belt. They had also been focusing more on developing her strength with her jutsu and she was far more creative with it now as well. Her abilities had vastly improved, and she could now disappear into shadow completely, not just a limb or two. Now they were going to start working on her using jutsu from within the shadow. Being able to use either Katon and Raiton would take great concentration, but having the skill would be just as valuable as it would be difficult to learn. If she could demonstrate it at the exam, Itachi had said they would definitely give her the rank. He'd said she was smart enough, good enough with medical jutsu, and with her Raiton abilities and lower level Katon, that she was good enough. But having that extra skill would really show her talents.

Hitori was more nervous than she had been before she tested for ANBU and Chunin exams put together. She had been training for this for ages, and with Itachi's help, she felt like she might actually get through it without either, dying, or passing out from terror. Despite her confidence boost, she was still struggling with her brain telling her that she was going to make mistakes and mess up everything. Even if she made a few mistakes so long as she didn't completely ruin it, or faint, it would be okay.

She was so nervous that she wasn't even focused enough to feel Itachi approach and jumped when he passed through a shadow a few paces behind her. He looked surprised at her being surprised and just sat down with her calmly. He seemed to be able to tell that she wasn't feeling too great. Of course he could tell; the man could read her like a book. Most of the time it was rather embarrassing, but this time it was good. At least he knew that he needed to comfort her. He stayed quiet for a minute, giving her a chance to speak but she couldn't think of what to say.

"Hitori."

"Hm?"

"You'll be fine." His smooth, deep voice was as calm as always.

"Yeah, that's coming from you. Prodigal genius." She made sure her tone was teasing, just in case he mistook it for misplaced anger.

He huffed and looked off into the trees. "Regardless of my rank, or abilities, I know you'll be fine because of how hard you try." She blinked slowly and stared at his side profile as he continued. "You've never let your own doubts talk you out of trying, and that's the hardest part."

Despite his words clearly being directed at her, she felt that sentence also resonated somewhere within him as well. Maybe it was what he had told himself years ago when he had to make the most difficult choices in his life. She watched his eyes as he spoke. It was always the best way to tell what was going through his head. When his Sharingan was on, he was impossible to read, but now, his gaze was warm.

"From when I first met you until now, you've grown and matured a lot. I'm proud of you."

He finally turned to her with the biggest smile she had ever seen on his face. Despite the fact it was a normal smile for anyone else; for Itachi it was huge. Although he had come out of his shell a lot more since she had met him, it was still the smaller gestures that meant the most. Even this was monumental, and she caught herself staring at the change unabashedly for a second. Her heart swelled seeing him like this, like he was happy and she hoped that he was.

"Thank you. You're the best." She replied shyly and nudged him with her elbow. Much to her surprise, he returned her friendly nudge.

After a soft chuckle, they both got up and got to work. They warmed up by working through combinations attacks, which would help develop her teamwork skills for ANBU. Their Raiton and Suiton combo was lethal and she could tell that he was impressed by her efficiency. Brilliant chakra control certainly came in handy when using Raiton as it allowed her a level of finesse not all Raiton users would have. They moved onto the Kage Oni jutsu and she would chase him by strictly moving through shadows. It was difficult but they had been working on it for weeks and she had got it down to a fine art now. She wasn't anywhere near as fast as he was, but that was just her limit. Normally she could barely keep up with him, but his Sharingan left her at a much bigger disadvantage. She focused on using some Katon jutsu from her hiding spots as well, as they were well suited to surprising opponents. Using that against a large group of enemies when hidden would allow for a much more effective technique and it would be more likely to incapacitate foes. Once she became more practiced with it, it wouldn't exhaust her as much.

They sat down to rest for a moment and Hitori grabbed a water bottle for herself and tossed one to her training partner.

"Hitori, would you teach me some of your grappling techniques?" He asked out of nowhere and she choked on her mouthful of water. Why on earth he needed to be taught, she had no idea.

"Isn't that when you'd use your Sharingan? To learn stuff by watching?" She asked him in confusion.

"Yes, but I've used it a lot today. I would prefer to not end up with a migraine later." He replied evenly and she nodded in understanding.

"Should we stop? If you're too tired…"

"I am alright. Besides, even though I can use my Sharingan, I do prefer a more...organic learning process. It's more thorough and enjoyable." As always, he had an answer for everything.

"Okay. Uhh, I'll show you some of my favourites." She shrugged as they stood back up and got ready.

As carefully and simply as she could, she went through the techniques and as she expected, he got it downpat within his first few attempts. Once he had the basics down, she showed him a few variations or different approaches to each technique, ensuring that he understood them all before she moved on. She rolled her eyes at how quickly he picked up everything, and even noticed some other extensions that she hadn't considered. Even though she gave him grief for it, she was still happy to see him enjoying learning something new.

They had a couple of strictly grappling-only matches, putting his new skills into practice, and were evenly matched. Even though he wasn't using his Sharingan, he still seemed like he knew exactly what she was going to do before she did it. It was a constant exchange of the upper hand, and neither of them was quite able to force the other to tap out and give up. In fact, just simply flowing through the techniques was great practice for him, and she could feel his skill level increasing even during their short matches. By their fourth match, she felt like he was starting to hold back because he had become so good in such a short amount of time, and she moved to sit a foot away from him once they were finished.

He stared at her in confusion for a moment, and waited for her to explain.

"You've already gotten better than me. I think you'll need to find a new opponent. You're such a  _sponge_." she said with a chuckle and he raised an eyebrow at her use of slang.

"A sponge?" he asked slowly.

"Yes, a sponge. You soak up information so easily. It took me ages to get as good as I am now." she smiled brightly at him. "Well done."

Throughout their training sessions over the last few months, she had very quickly learnt to stamp out feeling sorry for herself for being such a slow learner. It wasn't that she was a bad shinobi; Itachi was simply a genius. She had instead turned those feelings into appreciation for him, that he was willing to go through the process of taking hours to help her something he could do within minutes. Not once had he even shown the slightest sign of losing his patience, and she hoped that she could read him well enough by now to tell. Instead, when she finally got the hang of it, he celebrated with her. So she figured she should returned the favour, and celebrate him increasing his own skills and expanding his fighting style. Not that anyone would ever get close enough to him for him to need to use it.

"Thank you Hitori. I can't take all the credit though. You are a good teacher."

"Aha, I don't need to be a good teacher with you. You practically teach yourself." she chuckled again, more than happy to continue praising him.

"I still insist that it's due to your precise and clear instruction." He smirked at her knowingly and she rolled her eyes in response.

They shared a soft laugh before Hitori laid down, tucking an arm behind her head. It took a few seconds for the adrenaline to begin to wear off so she stayed still and breathed deeply to slow her heart rate. Itachi copied her and a calm silence enveloped them. Moments like these were quite common between them and they both embraced them fully. It was a great mix for people who were naturally introverted but tended to be lonely. They didn't feel forced to talk to break the silence, but it wasn't awkward. It was nice to share these things together; enjoying the soft breeze, and the sound of it moving through the trees. The soft sounds of the town in the distance and people training on the other grounds near them. Hitori could sense the chakra of the other shinobi nearby and feel it rise and fall as they practiced their jutsu over and over again.

She had no idea how long they stayed there, but Itachi had fallen asleep at some stage. His even breathing from next to her made her feel calm, and she knew that he desperately needed the rest. He wouldn't have nodded off here unless he was very tired. Every spare moment he had, he had been spending at HQ, or with Sasuke. She hadn't got to see much of him recently. Instead of disturbing him, she let herself fall into a light doze as well so he could continue resting. Eventually her need for water disturbed her, and she got up to grab two bottles from the pack she brought. She sat one next to Itachi as she could feel him waking up and he turned and saw it as soon as he opened his eyes. Again, he copied her and sat up, then drained half the bottle in one go.

"How long was I asleep for?" He asked softly, voice slightly raspy from sleep and dehydration.

"I have no idea. I dozed off myself." She offered simply before finishing off her water.

He nodded and did the same. "Thank you for letting me rest."

"I know you've been flat out...If you were so tired, then-"

"No." He knew what she was going to say and cut her off. "I wanted to train and spend time with you." Mentally, she yelled at her heart not to flutter over his words.

"Well, I'm banning you from HQ and the hospital for the rest of the day. You need to go home and rest." She said with a cheeky smirk, even though she was entirely serious.

He watched her for a moment before he sighed silently and nodded in agreement. They both stood up and she picked up her pack as they headed back to their apartment building in silence. They passed the corner that HQ was on and she glared at him when he seemed to be inspecting it too intently. He laughed softly and raised his hands in defeat as they continued on their way. She knew he could simply sneak back later, but she hoped he would listen to her and take it easy. Once they reached their floor, Itachi walked her to her door first. Gentlemanly as always.

"Thank you for training with me even though you're exhausted. Please get some rest, okay?" He nodded in reply. "And if you think you're getting a migraine, come and see me straight away." She pointed at his right temple with narrowed eyes and he smiled faintly before he nodded again.

"I will endeavour to rest for the remainder of the day." He responded calmly, but he was going along with her humour.

"Good. You should never piss off your medic." She couldn't hold up her facade and began to laugh after a moment.

"I don't plan to." He didn't bother trying to keep his composure and smirked at her attempt to be scary.

"Take it easy." She said and she headed inside and shut her door behind her.

Finally, she could let her true face show and felt like her stomach was doing flips inside her. He was so damn cute and sweet that it just killed her. She loved when he played along with her, and he seemed to enjoy her attempts to make him smile and laugh. When they had become closer, she expected that he would get sick of her trying, but she was glad to see he still liked it. Maybe it was cathartic for him, as he may never have had someone who really tried to make him a little happier. Not since he was younger anyway. His shy smiles and the way he raised an eyebrow at her when he figured out her teasing always made her laugh. He didn't even have to try to be funny, and it was the subtleties about him that made him who he was. Everything was well-calculated and thought out, but she did hope that he would be more impulsive sometimes. Being impulsive and selfish sometimes was part of being human and trying to enjoy your life. Some would say that she was too selfish, and wanting to keep her own company was part of that. Regardless, so long as Itachi was happy, then she was happy. The guy certainly deserved all the happiness in the world after what he had been through in his life.

She wondered sometimes if maybe his kindness wasn't completely platonic, but then reality hit her full force and reminded her that he was so composed that a statue would be jealous. Although he let his guard down with her, that didn't mean that he had romantic feelings for her. The guy had a fanclub of old ladies at the market who loved him because he was so polite and respectful; even going so far as to help them with heavy lifting occasionally. Hitori was quite sure that they threw in extra for him when he came through. Not to mention some of the female hospital staff were also a big fan of his. He was in there fairly frequently to see Sakura, and Hitori knew that the staff simply loved to get the genuinely nice patients. Clearly, the man was too damn nice for his own good. He made regular nice people look like assholes. Eventually, the whole village would fall in love with him because he was so kind.

Although she was getting slightly frustrated with him because he was so nice, she knew it wasn't his fault. Despite the coup planned by the Uchiha clan, clearly he had still been raised quite well. Manners such as his weren't drilled into adults, but learned behaviours as a child that were simply habits as an adult. She groaned out loud at her own stupidity; she should have known better than to let herself develop feelings for the guy. But when he smiled at her like he did today, and made her feel like she was actually worth something, she couldn't seem to help it. He had such a way of making her feel brave, and confident. She had a lot of respect for him, as a person and as a shinobi, so maybe that was why she valued his praise so much.

Having feelings for him was an entirely different issue, and would have to be resolved in her own time. Her heart was racing just thinking about him, and she groaned once more. She felt slightly short of breath, but it was probably just because of her random panic attack, so she went and sat down on her couch and tried to slow her brain down. Unfortunately, even after she had sat for a while, she still couldn't calm herself down nor get her mind off the man across the hall. Inside, she got up and made an easy dinner with some leftover rice and grilled fish. Even after she had showered, and was in bed once it had gotten dark, could she achieve her task.

With a frustrated sigh, she half forced herself to sleep. Unfortunately it didn't seem to work too well...

Across the hall, Itachi was dealing with the similar issues. He had been so busy between catching up with Sasuke and HQ that he had barely seen her. Although he had planned to keep a bit more distance from her, it hadn’t worked too well so far. He also tossed and turned before eventually he fell into slumber..


	29. Exams

**Chapter 29 - Exams**

The doors opened, and Itachi straightened and waited for Hitori to come out. The other jonin exited first, as well as Tsunade, Shizune, and Kakashi. Sakura was standing just outside a few metres from him, and she was waiting for their mutual friend too. After a moment, Hitori finally came out, shuffling her feet heavily from exhaustion.

Sakura made a beeline for her and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. Although he couldn't hear them from this far away, he could read her lips well enough to tell that Sakura asked if she passed and Hitori nodded in reply with a grin. Sakura's hand was glowing green but she removed it after a moment, clearly being happy with her physical health. Some of the other jonin patted Hitori on the back in congratulations before they left and Sakura hugged her quickly before bidding her goodbye, mentioning something about the hospital.

Her eyes met his, and he gave her one of his tiny smiles that only lasted a split second, but she got the message and grinned happily before the Hokage stood before her, Shizune on her right looking studious, and Kakashi spacing out on her left. The silver-haired man gave him a nod, which he returned in kind before he heard the Hokage's voice loud and clear.

"So, will you be back on the ANBU mission roster now or what?" the older, blonde woman crossed her arms, and although her tone was firm as always, even she had a proud smile on her face. "And I presume Itachi will get back to his regular hours too?" She said it just loud enough for him to hear.

"Yes, Hokage. Thank you for your support."

Hitori bowed low, and Tsunade patted her on the shoulder with such strength that she wobbled on the spot a little before the three of them moved aside and started their own conversation. She got excited when she looked over to Itachi once more and all exhaustion aside, she sprinted over to him, laughing happily. When she reached him, she thudded straight into him, wrapping her arms around his middle. Composure was all but forgotten and his eyes were wide before he huffed faintly at her excitement. After a moment, she stiffened and pulled away, looking down at her dirty clothes and giving him an apologetic look. She had no idea, but the three senior shinobi were watching their exchange closely and Itachi pretended that he didn't notice their gaze.

"I passed!" she exclaimed happily and bounced on the balls of her feet several times out of sheer joy.

"I gathered that from your excitement." he didn't hesitate as he placed a supportive hand on her shoulder and squeezed faintly. "Congratulations, Hitori."

It surprised him, but she put one of her hands atop of his in an appreciative gesture and he couldn't help his eyes softened at her smiling face and shining eyes. She had been so unsure of herself, but her confidence had increased twofold over the last few months they had been training together, and he was impressed by her skill. She learnt fast, took criticism well, and worked hard, though as soon as they stopped she wasn't interested in moving a muscle.

He really was proud of her.

"Can you make me food, please? I'm so hungry!" she groaned with a pout on her face, making him raise an eyebrow at her. He was trying not to smile at her expression. Her puppy dogs eyes worked their magic and he sighed and nodded.

Grabbing his outstretched arm, she pulled it into a strong grip for someone who was so 'tired and hungry'. Resting her head on his upper arm as they walked away, Itachi still felt eyes on them, but found that he didn't really care too much if anyone thought it was strange. This was a happy occasion and he was glad that she wanted to celebrate with him. He was used to her physical contact now too, and relaxed as best he could. He had come to very much enjoy when she fiddled with his collar or brushed something off his clothes. The moments where they were close enough for him to take in her scent were something he enjoyed far more than he was willing to admit.

They walked all the way through the village and back to their building and into her apartment without even discussing it. It was almost mechanical now, he supposed. They had taken to sharing meals quite frequently, and most of them were eaten at her place, since she had lounges and chairs to sit on, whereas he did not. Obviously furnishing an apartment he only used for sleeping, bathing and eating wasn't high on his priority list. His ancient single seater was enough for him to read a book in, so that was sufficient.

She finally let his arm go to unseal the door and let them inside, letting it click as it closed behind them. He went straight to the kitchen, and started lifting out bits and pieces that he would need, and he was surprised to see all the ingredients he would need in her fridge and cupboard. Shaking his head, he gathered she had probably planned to ask him to cook afterwards and had prepared that in advance. When she wanted to be, she could be quite proactive.

Her bathroom door was open and she dashed in and shut the door behind her. He heard the shower turn on a moment later and the sounds that she made as she struggled to get out of her filthy and sweaty clothes. A heavy thud made him flinch but she called out to let him know she was okay and she had just tripped over. He allowed a soft laugh to escape him since she wasn't there to dance victoriously for making him laugh, and shook his head at her once again.

After around 10 minutes, the water switched off and he was finishing cutting up all the ingredients and the water was boiling. His eyes followed the sound of the bathroom door opening, revealing Hitori with just her towel around her, rubbing her wet hair with another. Casually, without even noticing his open-mouthed stare, she disappeared into her bedroom and he heard the sounds of drawers opening and closing. He got back to the task at hand after a slow, controlled exhale, and acknowledged that sometimes his photographic memory was both a blessing and a curse. Especially when the way the muscles in her strong, toned legs moved as she walked was now burnt into his mind.

When she joined him in the kitchen a moment later, she was wearing a loose blue shirt, and shorts that he could only just see from underneath the length of the shirt. He kept his expression even and only glanced at her before going back to putting the rest of the ingredients into the soup. She took a deep breath in through her nose and smiled contentedly and watched him cook silently, leaning her back and elbows against the counter.

He could smell her soap and the fruity scent of her shampoo, even over the smell of the food and sighed softly at himself. Regardless of how much self-control he had, obviously his primal instincts and base thoughts couldn't be completely switched off or ignored. He strolled over and stood directly in front of her, and she looked up at him with an easy expression that faltered for a little when they were only inches from each other. Carefully he reached over and grabbed a jar of spices off the counter next to her, getting even closer in the process, and turned back to the pot on the stove as if nothing had happened. She was keeping her face calm, but he hadn't missed the way that her eyes widened momentarily, and her bottom lip had come between her teeth.

Taking that little victory for himself, he stirred and adding a few things until the soup was finally ready, mindlessly grabbing two bowls out of her cupboard for them and serving up their meal. When he was done, he carried them both to the opposite side and placed them down on the counter in front of the stools. He took a seat and she handed him a spoon that he had obviously forgotten to get from being distracted by her and thanked her with a nod. She placed a spoonful in her mouth and moaned in a pleasured way that made him snap his head toward her, and watched as she had her eyes closed and the spoon hanging lazily out of her mouth.

"How do you make this so perfect every time?" she lolled her head to look at him, spoon still partially in her mouth.

"It's my mother's recipe." he responded evenly, although he was amused by her wide eyes and cutlery hanging from her face.

"I can't say that I'm surprised you inherited her ability for cooking. You are so freaking good at  _everything_." she rolled her eyes at him and he shrugged in reply. "Unless you just watched her with your Sharingan and memorised it. Pretty sure that's cheating though." she spoke in an accusatory tone and narrowed her eyes at him.

He smirked faintly and didn't respond, letting her mind run wild about him watching people cook with his Sharingan. That wasn't what happened, but it was funny enough for her to imagine it. Clarifying it would just ruin the fun.

"I am happy to teach you how to make it." he spoke up after another mouthful, wondering how she would react.

She was between mouthfuls, luckily enough, since she might have made a mess from the way her jaw dropped. Her silver-grey eyes found his dark ones and she just stared at him for a moment, trying to analyse something, or trying to find an answer to a question that he didn't know.

"R-really? You would teach me that?"

Her awed voice made it obvious that the gesture wasn't lost on her and he nodded slowly in answer. He wasn't exactly the sort of man to let anyone try the soup his mother used to make all the time, and he was glad to see that she understood the gravity of what he had offered. Her wistful smile tugged at his heartstrings and he knew that she was appreciative, not just because his mother was gone, but because she never had the chance for her mother to teach her something like this.

"Thank you, Itachi. You're very kind."

It was his turn to be shocked and he turned to look at her with his spoon in his mouth before he removed it and swallowed thickly. His eyes were slightly wider than usual and he mentally checked to see if his mouth was shut. Blinking at her slowly, he wracked his brain trying to think of exactly how to respond to that.

"I don't know if  _kind_  is my forte, Hitori." although he meant for it to sound firm, it came out weaker than he had intended and he watched as she smiled, unaffected by what he was trying to insinuate.

"Of course it is. Haven't you figured it out yet?" she spun on her seat to fully face him, soup forgotten for a brief moment and he could see that she was determined to make her point known. This outburst was one of tenacity, and was the most concerning one in her arsenal.

"You are the most kind, self sacrificing and honourable person I have ever met. In the short time that I have known you, you have saved my life, helped me get through it when my teammate died and sat with me while I mourned my mother, fed me countless times and offered to train me to reach jonin which I achieved today, thanks to you. That isn't even mentioning all the incredible things you have done for Konoha at the price of your own life." her confident toned forced him to stay silent and when he opened his mouth to finally say something she shushed him. "Don't even try it."

"Hitori, you are clearly forgetting the terrible things that I have done. They cannot be erased by doing a few good deeds." Itachi didn't listen to her attempt to keep him silent and faced her fully.

"Do I really need to explain further?" she let her head fall back to stare at the ceiling in frustration. "Although I probably don't understand every detail, I'm not stupid. I know why you've done all those 'terrible things' you mentioned." she shuffled her chair forward and placed a small hand on his knee and stared him in the eyes.

"Let me put it to you this way…" she took a breath. "Uchiha Itachi, I don't think you have  _ever_ done anything for yourself. You have always had a higher purpose, or something that you needed to protect, causing you to sacrifice years of your life, your home, your family and probably your sanity just because you  _love_  so deeply. Whether it was Konoha or your brother, you have always put  _someone_ or  _something_  else before yourself." her hand moved from his leg and was placed on his chest over his heart. "You are a wonderfully good person, Itachi. Despite what you may think."

Itachi was utterly speechless by her beautiful words, and she gave him a smile that made his heart melt. Her hand didn't move and he knew that there was nothing he could respond or retort with. With her hand on him, all that filled his head was her and her smile. He had no argument for her, and didn't know if he wanted to argue with her. For just a minute, he wanted to feel appreciated, like all the things he had done, good or bad were really worth something, like they had made a difference. His mind was mostly blank, which was uncharacteristic for him, but he decided to absorb the moment, instead of over analyse it and let it pass by.

He took a hold of the hand on his chest in his own, and placed it in his lap, staring at her much smaller extremity. She hadn't tried to pull away and he took that as a sign that she didn't mind the physical contact. With his head lowered, she must have noticed the furrowing of his brow and she placed her pointer finger between them, making him relax. He raised his head, recognising the similar gesture and couldn't hold his composure any longer. Although she would not know its relevance, it still resonated deeply within him. She smiled at his open expression and pushed some hair behind his ear.

Her hand was soft against his cheek and he leant into it slightly, and closed his eyes, breathing slowly. It seemed that some of the tremendous weight was lifting from his shoulders, just from her kind words. Maybe it was slowly erasing the self-hatred that had built up over so many years. Regardless, he was grateful to her, just for being so assuring and not wanting him to beat himself up anymore for what had happened.

"I…" he trailed off, not knowing what to say.

"No need to say anything. You have a new chance at life now. I would hate to see you waste it by not letting yourself live and do things you want to do." He looked up at her and saw her smiling. "Buy purple curtains, get a tattoo of a ramen bowl, or get a cat. Doesn't matter. Just put yourself first, and do things you  _want_  to do. You  _deserve_  happiness, Itachi."

She was right. He had a second lease on life now, being back in his home village. If he went around like he was a ghost, barely existing, he was wasting his chance to find happiness. He wasn't expecting anything when he came back, but after all the terrible things he had seen, shouldn't he deserve a modicum of joy? After all the years of being in Akatsuki, doing horrific missions in ANBU, and living with the guilt of his families deaths, maybe he needed to start letting some of it go. Time would not heal his pain completely, but he could allow time to ease it, at the very least. Considering all that he had sacrificed, and how long he had tortured himself for it all, did he not have a right to try and be happy? Although he would never forgive himself for it all, he knew that at the least, his mother would want him to be happy. Sasuke too.

If he was going to do what he wanted to do, then the first thing he wanted to do was show Hitori how he felt. She had been an incredible and unexpected force in his settling into Konoha again, and it surprised him how much he valued her company and her advice. She had made his heart beat again, and he had known it for a while, but been too afraid to admit the reality of his feelings and too unsure to act on them.

His hands moved from his lap, and she went to pull hers back thinking that he felt uncomfortable, but he was much too fast. Gently, he cupped her cheeks and allowed himself a smile as she blushed scarlet. He was half-standing, half-sitting on his stool as he leant towards her slowly, expecting that she would move away or stop him. She didn't however, and the hand that was on his face fell away, and her other hand fisted in his shirt as he tentatively brushed his lips against where the corner of her mouth met her cheek. The skin was as soft as it looked and he pressed just a bit harder, although he hoped that she felt it through her whole body and soul. He only moved once he desperately needed to breath. It didn't take that long since he had been holding his breath for a few seconds already.

His heart was thumping heavily in his chest, to the point where he wouldn't have been surprised if she could hear it. He dropped his hands and sat back a moment later and huffed faintly as her cheeks flushed red once more. She turned to her head to hide it but he laughed softly at her before she pointedly stared straight ahead and went back to eating her soup.

He did the same, realising it was only lukewarm now but finished his bowl all the same and went back for seconds. She pushed her bowl across the counter and eyed her spoon to avoid his gaze. He filled hers first and nudged it back to her, enjoying the way she thanked him with a brief nod and dug in hungrily. After he served himself, he sat back down and they ate in silence. It wasn't awkward, but the atmosphere had definitely changed. Now they were aware of the shift in the dynamic of their relationship but Itachi wasn't quite sure where it would go at the moment. He did have feelings for her, although he didn't entirely understand them, but he was glad she hadn't pushed him away, ensuring that he hadn't made a mistake. Her blush made him hope that she shared his feelings, but he wouldn't rush that.

When she finished, she got up and rinsed her bowl in the sink, and he nudged his across the counter, copying her from before. She smiled and rinsed his as well, before stretching her arms up high and yawning. The sun had gone down while they ate, and Hitori was clearly exhausted from the exam today. He stood up and moved to the end of the counter, waiting until she turned around.

"I will leave you to rest." He wouldn't want to admit it, but that was the best he could come up with at the moment.

"Okay." She smiled and shifted her weight shyly as she looked at the floor. "Thank you for cooking for me and for everything else. I appreciate it."

"Anytime. Goodnight."

He nodded and left her apartment with a bit of haste, trying to hide his own shyness and sighed once he had entered his place and shut the door behind him…


	30. Shook

**Chapter 30 - Shook**

It began as a calm day in Konoha. Hitori and Sakura were working on her medicines in the hospital when the floor beneath them began to shake and tremble. Things began to fall on the counter, their hard work in tubes and beakers smashed and destroyed. Both girls screamed in terror and clambered underneath a large counter and hoped to avoid the falling debris. Luckily most of the cabinets filled with ingredients were shut and latched, but a couple were still open. It died down much faster than they had expected and both of them launched themselves out from underneath the counter once it was over, and went out to the patients immediately; their previous work forgotten. They went separate ways without speaking about it, Sakura headed in the direction of Sasuke's room and Hitori went the other way and checked on everyone and made a quick mental tally of broken equipment or furniture.

After a few minutes, they met back at the nurses station and began instructing the staff gathered there, just in time for a runner to arrive.

"Head Medic Haruno! There has been a landslide in a village nearby. They need medics now!" the young chunin yelled so she could hear him over the sound of the people and crazily beeping machines.

Sakura looked straight at Hitori and they knew what the other was thinking immediately. Hitori nodded once and took off with the runner. Sakura would stay behind and organise a team and supplies to come a little while behind them. This would allow for immediate assistance with more time to organise everything that they needed. Four lower ranked medics went with her, as they would be able to help her as best they could until the full team arrived.

They headed to the village gates and Hitori was surprised to find Itachi there. He was talking with Kakashi and they both stared at her as she went past. Without a prompt, she went right to the head of the group and stood on a rock that brought her up just enough to look at the top of everyone's heads. If the situation didn't need to be dealt with swiftly, she would have made a joke about her height, just to get a laugh out of everyone and lighten the mood.

"May I have everyone's attention?!" she yelled just so they could all hear her and if went dead silent. "I am currently in charge of the medical team. Head Medic Haruno is assembling a large team with supplies who will follow us shortly. We need to set up a triage as soon as we arrive and get set up in a safe and stable area. I will need assistance setting up and designating clean areas in case of emergency surgery. Any questions?" She waited for a moment, but no one spoke.

"Let's move out!"

The group headed out at top speed with Hitori at the head. Kakashi was on her right, trailing just slightly behind her. She felt strange but was becoming used to being in charge. This sort of disaster always required swift action and her time in ANBU had definitely helped with that. Her confidence had increased with experience and training from Itachi as well. She didn't need as much time to process before she made her decisions anymore. Although she didn't consciously acknowledge it, she knew that a certain pair of red and black eyes drifted to her occasionally and she wondered if he was proud of her. Surely she would find out later, but for now she needed to focus. Especially until Sakura arrived.

The Split River village was aptly named and close by. It was a large village that mostly ran off fishing from the rivers, and trade in their popular marketplace. Once they were across one river, they could see the far side of the second river was falling apart, and still unstable. The town was next to where the river split apart, but the earthquake and subsequent landslide had caused tonnes of rock and debris to get pushed into the town by the shaken river. The river bed was also destroyed and had left no resistance. Rushing water had washed away or damaged some smaller buildings. It was a mess and there was people screaming in pain, yelling to their friends and loved ones in anguish and fear. It was a horrible scene, but they had no time to think about it.

Once they had gone across the second river, which thankfully must have calmed down since the earthquake, they made a large circle to debrief. Hitori jumped up to an elevated spot again and raised her voice. This needed to be quick. The village was in chaos. They would have to set up as far away from the river as possible, but would need to ensure that the land they were on wouldn't be at risk from any secondary tremors from the earthquake.

"Konoha shinobi! We all have a job here today. I need heavy lifters to organise all the removal of the debris. Choji, you're in charge." She looked straight at him before looking over the crowd once more. "Do I have a Hyuuga here?"

"Yes!" Two voices sounded from the crowd.

"Ahhh, two of you. Good. Go with the heavy lifters. Start finding survivors under the rubble and get them out safely. Do I have any Doton users?" Three voices replied, continuing their role call. "I need stable land for a medical triage area. Find somewhere sufficient away not too far from the river and get working. I'll need one of you to stay in case of any aftershocks, but the rest of you can go and help move the debris after. Go!" They nodded in understanding, and she glanced at the other people who would be helping the medics.

"Medical team, normal emergency procedures. Green bands for superficial injuries, yellow for non-urgent treatment, red for immediate treatment. Black is for those who are dead or for whom you cannot save. We will have more supplies arriving shortly and a bigger team with Head Medic Haruno and we'll debrief them when they get here. Please set up a supply station so we will be ready for their arrival. For the moment, I will start treating those with red bands. Children first and their parents, then everyone else. Go!"

"Runners, keep near the medical team. We may need to send you back to Konoha for supplies. If there are patients that need treatment but cannot be moved, you will need to notify the medics. Keep an even distribution throughout the teams and we will use you to help us fetch what we need. Everyone else, make yourself useful. Move out!"

Kakashi gave her a nod of respect as she headed over to where the Doton users looked like they were ready for the medical stations to be setup. She couldn't see Itachi anywhere, but his Sharingan was of far better use to help the Hyuuga's and those helping people out from the debris. The four medics with her began setting up the triage and she got the Doton user with their group to set up a bunch of makeshift beds and counters from the earth. Patients got brought over to them and were laid down on the beds and Hitori got to work. One of the medics began giving them coloured wristbands and Hitori focused her attention only on those who were given red ones. She mostly stopped bleeding, reset bones, gave painkillers and did everything she could to stabilise them, then moved onto the next patient.

More and more of them were coming over with black wristbands and she did her best not to linger on them. She would check them over briefly and make sure there was nothing she could do, then made them comfortable. Every task and treatment was completed with the utmost care and efficiency, and it was only another 10 minutes before Sakura arrived armed with enough medics and supplies to keep them going for hours. She got to work next to Hitori immediately, and now that she was here, there was more chakra going around and more people that they could help. Now there was more red wristbands instead of black, and they were swiftly being changed back to yellow and the patients moved to another safe area once they were stable.

Both Hitori and Sakura called out for certain things, scalpels, needles, medicines and they would appear in front of their eyes, thank you to the orderlies and people running around madly to help them. Hinata and Hanabi would appear occasionally and give them information on the patients as they were helping those who couldn't move until they were stable enough to be brought over. Ino was floating around somewhere, and assisting as best she could. There was someone in front of her who they had just found and they had been trapped under a heavy rock. It was an older man, probably in his 60's, with graying hair. Despite her best efforts, she wasn't going to be able to save him. His lungs were punctured and collapsed under severely broken ribs and a broken sternum. It hurt her to do so, but she blocked his ability to feel pain, and held his hand as he passed. She changed his wristband from red to black and someone moved him away but she had someone else laid in front of her immediately.

The patients kept coming but Hitori was out of chakra until a small someone appeared on her shoulder. It was Katsuyu and she felt renewed with chakra. Sakura had created as many clones of Katsuyu as she could to help the other medics and she was also helping them communicate to each other. She treated the patient in front of her, resetting a broken leg that was severe enough to bust through the skin as well as a severe laceration that had haemorrhaged pretty badly. It didn't take her too long to set the bone and heal the majority of the break, and close the wound. Once she was done, the patient was moved carefully to another area but she still didn't catch a break.

After what seemed like years, the patients stopped coming, and her chakra was out again, Katsuyu disappeared after Hitori thanked her politely. She went to stand, but immediately got dizzy and knew that she was going to fall. Luckily, she felt familiar arms catch her, and help her sit again. Her vision was slightly blurry but she recognised him anyway.

"Itachi...thank you." She said somewhat breathlessly in relief.

"You need to rest. I'll take you home," he scolded her; it was effective despite his soft and calm voice.

"No, I can stay and help out. I'm just out of chakra and I'm dehydrated." She replied with as strong a voice as she could muster, which wasn't that great.

He pulled a bottle of water from nowhere and she drained the entire thing while he stayed quiet, kneeling next to her chair. She put her head in her hands, feeling it begin to throb. She was going to end up with a migraine at this point. Shizune approached them and Hitori looked up and focused on her as best she could.

"Hitori, why are you still here? You should have left hours ago. I told a runner to send you back to Konoha." Her voice was concerned but firm and she knew that she was busted. She had sent the runner away and bluffed as best she could that she was okay.

"I know, but I had a Katsuyu clone and I was fine. I'll head home now." Truth be told, she was so tired that she hadn't even realised that Shizune was here.

"Please escort her Commander Uchiha. You've done plenty as well. Thank you both." Shizune nodded to Itachi over her shoulder as he helped her stand once more.

"C'mon, let's go." Itachi said quietly, supporting her by the shoulders carefully.

It took them a lot longer to get back than it did for them to get there, going slowly since she was still dizzy. She was barely with it when they arrived back to her apartment and Itachi let them in and took her to the bathroom. He turned on the shower for her and then disappeared out of the door to give her privacy. Without paying any attention to what she was doing, she undressed and hopped in. Her mind was full of the chaos, blood and gore she saw today and she sat down and cried. She wasn't sure how long it was but Itachi came back and reached in behind the curtain and turned off the shower. With his eyes shut and head turned away, he held out a clean towel for her and once she took it, he disappeared again. Once she came out, she headed to the bedroom where he had laid out fresh clothes for her. His disappearing act continued until she opened the bedroom door to signal she was dressed and decent. She heard the front door open and then close, then began to smell food.

Itachi must have ordered some food to be delivered and it smelt like heaven in plastic containers. Before he could pull it all out of the bags, she realised how hungry she was and summoned the last of her energy and began to shovel food into her mouth as fast as he could. She drained three bottles of water as she ate and made sure that she thanked Itachi between mouthfuls. He smiled at her kindly and she got more and more drowsy once her stomach was full.

Before she could even sit back in the chair, he stopped her and gently pulled her to her feet. Despite her groaning, he chuckled softly and helped her lie down as she felt the covers pull up over her and his hand brush some hair from her face.

"Get some rest, hmm?" she vaguely heard him on the edge of her consciousness but grasped his hand before he could leave her be.

"Don't go." She asked him to stay, but wasn't sure how he would react. She didn't want to say it aloud, but she was worried that she would have nightmares, and wanted him to be there if she did.

They regarded one another quietly for a moment, and he seemed to understand her internal struggle. He must have noticed the fear in her eyes because his guard dropped immediately and his expression softened. After he nodded slowly, he moved and hopped under the covers behind her. She already felt better with him there, and she rolled over to face him but kept her eyes shut. They were sore and her eyelids too heavy to open.

"Thank you." she whispered and extended her arm toward him. He took her hand in his and she took a few relaxing breaths before she fell asleep…


	31. Aftermath

**Chapter 31 - Aftermath**

Itachi awoke at dawn the next day. Neither of them had shut the curtains and the light was blaring through the window. Fortunately, Hitori was facing the other way and it wasn't bothering her. However it would disturb her and he wanted her to rest, so he carefully got up and closed them before he carefully got back into bed beside her. They had shared a bed a couple of times beforehand, and he couldn't lie to himself about not enjoying it. It was nice to know that someone who cared about him was there, someone who valued him as a person enough to ask him to stay with her.

Feeling needed like this was incredible. He hadn't experienced it before, and was incredibly thankful that although some might consider it late, that he understood what it felt like. Now he understood many things about relationships that had previously been strange and foreign to him. He knew what familial love felt like; it was what had cost him so much in his life. He felt it so strongly for Sasuke that he gave up everything just to save him. He resigned himself to die all to save his foolish little brother. Romantic love, however, was something he had no clue about.

Was he supposed to confess his feelings? Did he even deserve to be in relationship after all the terrible things he had done in his life? Sure, he felt that he had a right to at least try and forgive himself and be as happy as he could be, but that was different. Maybe it wasn't right to be in a relationship, being as broken as he was. He kept it together externally, but he still had plenty of sleepless nights and haunting dreams. Clinically, he was probably far more insane than he realised, and maybe one day he would finally snap. Why would he want to put her through that? He took a deep, slow breath, purposely controlling it to draw out the moment. Although he hoped that Hitori did have feelings for him, he couldn't know for sure unless she told him. He wondered how she would react if he told her.

Before he could attempt to play out the moment in his mind, Hitori shuffled and rolled onto her stomach in her sleep, groaning softly then settling again. Still being drowsy himself, he decided to go back to sleep, since he knew that Hitori would be out for many hours yet. Her chakra still wasn't too stable, so she was clearly in need of much more rest. He closed his eyes, and purposely slowed his breathing to get back to sleep.

Several hours later, it was late in the afternoon when he awoke again to see Hitori walking out of the bedroom. The bathroom door opened and closed and he levered himself up to a seated position, and moved to rest his back against the wall. His body was sore in ways that he hadn't noticed earlier; obviously from the exertions yesterday. His eyes were also sore from using his Sharingan more than normal, and he made a mental note to remind himself to go and see Sakura later.

Hitori came back in after a moment and handed him a bottle of water before she sat down on the edge of bed next to him. She was clearly not feeling well, still with dark circles under her eyes, her skin lacking in it's normal pallor. Her expression wasn't great either, and he could tell that she was upset. It had been a hard day for her, and he had seen many of the bodies of those the medics weren't able to save. It would be a while before she would bounce back from this; it was a terrible thing to have to see, even for a trained medic. Although it was very sad, he did feel a small amount of pride that Hitori cared so much, even for these people that she didn't know. He was proud that she was so compassionate and kind, and it was one of the many reasons why he had fallen for her.

Her slow, controlled breathing broke him from his reverie, and he realised that he had been staring blankly at her for some time now. She was clearly too caught up in her own thoughts to realise. He put his bottle of water down and moved behind her, his legs on either side of her, and wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into him. She twisted to one side, put her legs over one of his and rested her head in the crook of his neck. Quietly, she sobbed for sometime, and Itachi just held her tightly, hoping that he could take away or relieve some of her pain. He had no idea how long they sat there for, but the need for something to eat was too much for them both. Hitori would need to eat well for the next few days to assist her with regaining her lost chakra.

They got up slowly, both feeling the after effects from the hard day before, and shuffled into the kitchen. There was enough fresh food in the fridge to prepare some miso soup and some grilled beef for both of them, and they got cooking. Although they were chatting softly, he could see that Hitori was blinking frequently, her eyes still watery. She wasn't looking at him, unknowingly avoiding his gaze. He stopped what he was doing for a moment, and turned directly toward her. His abrupt action made her look at him, and he gently tugged forward on her shoulder, pulling her into a hug. Without any hesitation, she returned his embrace tightly. She was holding it together incredibly well, considering the situation. He didn't really know what to say to her, or if saying anything at all would help.

"I'm proud of you." He said softly into her hair.

"Why?" She replied just as quietly, with a sniffle.

"Because you took charge and worked hard to help everyone you could." Gently, he moved her so he could look her in the eye. "I'm proud of who you are, and I'm very happy to know you." He almost continued and spilled his guts about how he felt, but she beat him to it and spoke first.

"You're proud of me? Itachi, you have come leaps and bounds since I first met you. You are becoming a pivotal part of the village leadership, and in such a short time. After all the insanity of the last few years, I'm happy that you are getting what you deserve; recognition for all you've sacrificed for the greater good." Her retorts were always impressive, and he was too taken aback to talk and couldn't continue telling her how he felt.

She gave him a smile and pulled away, going back to cooking the meat nonchalantly. He felt slightly disappointed that he had missed the moment, but was still happy to hear her praise nonetheless. They continued cooking, then ate their meal, mostly in silence, only an occasional groan resulting from sore muscles. Hitori was kind enough to work out some knots in his muscles with chakra, and it took a fair amount of self-control from him to keep it family friendly. Luckily, he was the master of self-control.

Unfortunately, he had to go into ANBU HQ and figured it was better he got it over and done with. Hitori also intended to go into the hospital and check up on the patients she had seen yesterday. They parted ways at her front door, and he went home to quickly change clothes before he went to HQ. He had taken the chance to shower and sort his own things out yesterday while Hitori was in the shower after they arrived home, and he was glad he had done so since by the time he got to HQ, there was a lot to do. 2 squads had arrived back, one last night and another this morning when he was still asleep.

With paperwork awaiting him, he sighed quietly and got to work.

* * *

_2 Days Later_

Today was the day for the funeral services to honour those who had died in the earthquake and resulting landslides earlier in the week. The attendees were the villagers who were unharmed, or well enough to attend, some of the medics and shinobi from Konoha, and even some of the Konoha civilians who had friends or family in the village. Kakashi was also there, and had spared as many Doton users as he could, as well as Yamato, to assist in rebuilding the village over the past couple of days. Kakashi said a few words at the service, and Hitori was seated next to Itachi and Sakura.

Once the service had ended, many of the villagers came up to her and offered their sincere thank you. She recognised a couple of them, and felt bad that she didn't know all of them, but they were very kind in offering their gratitude to her. Since this was something she wasn't exactly used to, she followed Sakura's lead and copied her example. She offered condolences where they were needed, and gave all of those who spoke to her well wishes for the future. One lady even tried to give her a necklace that had belonged to her sister who passed away, but she respectfully declined. She didn't feel comfortable accepting it, and wouldn't know what to do with it anyway.

While all this was happening, Itachi waited off to the side until she was ready to leave.

All of the Konoha shinobi and civilians made the trip back together, aside from a few that were staying to be with their friends and family, and those who were helping in the clean up. Kakashi stayed behind as well, being able to use Doton jutsu was coming in handy. His presence there would be excellent for keeping a good relationship with the village, and the Daimyo would be happy with his efforts. Itachi had wanted to stay, but he had scouts arriving back in the afternoon and would need to be there to organise a squad immediately upon their return. Hitori would be heading back to the hospital to assist in treating the patients who were still there as well, so they would both be busy into the night.

On the walk back, Sakura began discussing something with one of her lead medics, which left Itachi and Hitori isolated off to one side of the group. They were talking quietly about the service and a few other things, until the discussion turned slightly more personal. She made a brief comment about how important he was in the village, referring to his role as ANBU Commander and although she was just being cheeky, he tried his best to lighten the mood along with her.

"Well, they say 'behind every great man is a great woman'". His reply wasn't too well thought out, and he had a inner freak out while he waited for her reaction.

Thankfully, she made a funny face and raised a questioning eyebrow at him. But when she didn't say anything back, his anxiety remained. It only got worse when Sakura came back to them after finishing her talk with the medic and he couldn't try to gauge what Hitori was thinking since the moment had broken. It seemed that he had no luck with confessing his feelings to her, although it wasn't exactly the best time, after a funeral and all. He didn't linger on it, and decided to revisit his thoughts on this matter later, when he was at home by himself, and away from prying eyes and ears. Especially ones that knew him well enough to notice that there was something going on. He didn't exactly get enough face to face time with the ANBU members for them to figure anything out. There was only a few people in the village who were close enough to read him that well.

After another ten minutes, they arrived back to Konoha, and everyone went their separate ways. Itachi, off to ANBU HQ, and Sakura and Hitori to the hospital. Sakura began updating her on a couple of the patients that she had seen to this morning, and they continued their professional discussion until Hitori realised that they had arrived in Sakura's office and she was currently shutting the door.

"Yo, what's up with you and Itachi? Seriously, something has to be going on by now." Her tone had changed completely from medic to friend.

"Uhh, nothing is up," she replied quizzically, but wasn't all too surprised.

"Come on. You said that he stayed with you the night of the earthquake." She was holding her arms up, bent at the elbow with her hands near her head, in a gesture of shock.

"Yeah. And nothing happened." Hitori's even and calm tone was making Sakura more worked up.

"I saw how he was looking at you on the trip back. That's why I talked to Yuta for a while to give you some space."

"He did say something sort of weird, now that I think about it." Her calmness was gone when she remembered what he had said before. Her eyes were narrowed, and she chewed the inside of her cheek in thought. "We were talking about how he needed to come back for ANBU stuff, instead of stay and help with the rebuild. I teased about him being a great asset to Konoha, and he said 'behind every great man is a great woman'. You came back over just after, which saved me from the awkwardness of figuring out what to say."

"Whoooaaa. That's a pretty big thing for Itachi to say."

"Yeah, it was a bit random. Certainly took me by surprise."

"I think you need to just talk to him about how you feel." Hitori rolled her eyes and let her head loll back in a dramatic gesture of protest. "I really think he has feelings for you, but you'll never know if you don't talk about it." Sakura shook her pointer finger at her.

"I'm not good at talking about my feelings," she replied with a scowl on her face.

"Just think…" she brought her hand up, and made an arcing motion with it as she spoke, "Fuck it."

Hitori burst into laughter, being taken off guard by her sudden use of expletives. Sakura laughed as well, and pulled on her lab coat before they headed back out of her office and began doing their rounds. Although it was amusing, Hitori couldn't really fault her argument. She knew that she should be honest with Itachi and tell him how she felt, but she was so terrified that he wouldn't reciprocate her feelings. Part of her was also scared that he would. Aside from Haruko, she had no idea how these things worked. She was already fretting about the imaginary conversation, and began to get anxious. Staving it away by treating her patients, she ended up near Sasuke's room and decided to head in and check on him. He would be released within the next few days, and although Sakura would have been there recently, she figured it was a good idea for her to poke her head in. If she did end up dating Itachi, she should probably be on good terms with him. She knocked on his door, and waited for his reply, granting her entry, before she slid the door open.

"Hey. How are you feeling?" She asked with a polite smile as she walked into the middle of the room. He was sitting at the table and chairs near the window, getting some sun.

"I'm much better than when you saw me last." He did smile back, but it was a much smaller change of expression; just like someone else she knew.

"Glad to hear it. Although I'm sure Sakura has everything covered, can I help with anything?" She offered politely, hoping that she was sufficiently hiding her nervousness.

"Nothing for me, no. However…" he trailed off with a mysterious expression.

"What it is?"

"Are you dating my brother?" She couldn't help her eyes going wide for a moment, and she was sure that he didn't miss it.

"Uhh, n-no. I'm...I'm not." Even she could see that he wasn't convinced, and waited for him to reply, covering her terrible attempt up by writing on his chart.

"Fair enough."

"Okay. Well, I'll leave you to rest. Glad you're doing well." She had no idea what she had written on his chart; could have been another language for all she knew. She put it back where it belonged and gave him a brief nod goodbye, and tried her best not to run out of the door.

Once she had escaped, she headed back in the direction of Sakura's office to say goodbye to her, since she had certainly had enough for today. She wasn't there, and Hitori figured she was busy elsewhere. Not being bothered to find her since she would see her again soon enough, she began to head home, and got angry with herself. Why did she think going to see Sasuke was a good idea? What idiocy led her to think that was smart? Surely she should have known better, but she went anyway, and now Sasuke would know that she liked Itachi, at the very least. The last thing she wanted was for him to find out off his younger brother, since she doubted he would keep it quiet like Sakura had. She supposed it was time that she fessed up and told him the truth.

Damn it, why shouldn't she tell him? She was on good enough terms with him to say practically anything she wanted to him, within reason. Why shouldn't he be told the truth? Why didn't she deserve a chance to give it a go? And if everyone around them was so convinced that Itachi liked her, then why the hell didn't he tell her? She could understand if he just felt too emotionally stunted and didn't know how, but surely he could just blurt it out! Well, that's what she was going to do.

Feeling a surge of tenacity, she stomped off in the direction of their apartment building, intending to inform him of how she felt and getting all of this sorted out...

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed the first chapter!  
> I'll be updating on a fortnightly basis and I welcome any feedback that you have for me!
> 
> Cheers!


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